Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Trims Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 161,888 shares of the company’s stock after selling 451 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.7% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $23,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth about $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $156.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $376.02 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.04.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.