NS Partners Ltd Reduces Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

NS Partners Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,943 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,012 shares during the quarter. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $11,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Knuff & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Corepath Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim raised 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

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

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $166.81 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $152.95 and a 200 day moving average of $156.28.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

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.