Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Cuts Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,313 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,339 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 1.5% of Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $165.22 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $397.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $152.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.19.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on JNJ. Raymond James dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

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.