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

Westchester Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 64,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 669 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 2.7% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $10,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 4J Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. My Personal CFO LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. FIDELIS iM LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. FIDELIS iM LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.36.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $144.77 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.39 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $156.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.74.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 37.27% and a net margin of 37.79%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 34.47%.

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.