Parthenon LLC Cuts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Parthenon LLC lowered its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 992 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 2.2% of Parthenon LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $18,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 435,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,975,000 after purchasing an additional 177,879 shares in the last quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 20,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 8,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 770.6% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 127,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,508,000 after purchasing an additional 113,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $162.35 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.88. The company has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.