FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Grows Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,111 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 1.1% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% during the third quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 37.8% during the third quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $147.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $157.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.98. The company has a market cap of $355.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $144.95 and a 52-week high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $21.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.02 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.