Sherman Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $35,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $167.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $402.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $151.33 and its 200-day moving average is $156.08. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners decreased 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, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was 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 currently 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.