Schear Investment Advisers LLC Lowers Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Schear Investment Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 666 shares during the period. Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 18,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after purchasing an additional 4,774 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance now owns 4,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 55,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,974,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $480,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $156.20 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.01. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS 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 34.35%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired 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 owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.