Liberty Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% in the third quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $152.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $144.95 and a 52-week high of $175.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.18. The company has a market capitalization of $367.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $21.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.02 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson 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.