Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Reduces Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,888 shares of the company’s stock after selling 451 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.7% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $23,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $156.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The company has a market capitalization of $376.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.04.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.