PrairieView Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

PrairieView Partners LLC cut its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. PrairieView Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $156.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $376.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.00. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. 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 analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

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.