Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Cuts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,397 shares of the company’s stock after selling 552 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 2.7% of Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $161.14 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $157.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $388.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

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.