Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Cuts Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,244 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,387 shares during the quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,996,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $69,859,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $147.03 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.29.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.