Westmount Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Westmount Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,957 shares of the company’s stock after selling 287 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,921,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829,257 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ traded up $2.08 during trading on Monday, hitting $144.14. 5,052,376 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,582,206. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.71.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.