Erste Asset Management GmbH Reduces Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Erste Asset Management GmbH cut its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 181,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,489 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $26,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $162.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $154.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted 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 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JNJ. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.