Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,628,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 57,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. Martel Wealth Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $246,000. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. now owns 74,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,828,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 208,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $146.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $352.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.05.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22,438,500 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday. Leerink Partners dropped their price target 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. Raymond James lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.06.

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.