ProVise Management Group LLC Reduces Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

ProVise Management Group LLC reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,949 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,427 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Enhancing Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,256,000. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 389,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,293,000 after purchasing an additional 22,578 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,263,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,306,000 after purchasing an additional 433,607 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 121,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,618,000 after purchasing an additional 15,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 25,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $164.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $155.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.25. The company has a market capitalization of $395.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.