Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,082 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,585 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BostonPremier Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $659,000. Violich Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares in the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 248,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 95,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This 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 link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $157.24 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $147.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $378.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on JNJ. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.