Ellis Investment Partners LLC Sells 1,215 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,041 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,215 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth $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 buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $155.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $373.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.91. 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.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson 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.