Patten Group Inc. Sells 903 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Patten Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,469 shares of the company’s stock after selling 903 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 303.0% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,328,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,115,000 after purchasing an additional 998,761 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,187,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,630,216,000 after purchasing an additional 547,714 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 14,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $825,000. Finally, ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 1,840,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,135,000 after purchasing an additional 655,818 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $165.22 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $152.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $397.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.