Paladin Wealth LLC Trims Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Paladin Wealth LLC cut its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Paladin Wealth LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,996,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $949,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $157.24 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $378.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.00.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine 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 company. 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 bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired 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 owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.