Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Position Lessened by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 555,326 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,249 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $80,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Citizens & Northern Corp raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 2,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 727,111 shares of the company's stock worth $105,139,000 after buying an additional 92,389 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 7,186 shares of the company's stock worth $1,039,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $2,629,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 141.4% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 185,084 shares of the company's stock worth $26,767,000 after acquiring an additional 108,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE JNJ traded up $2.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $162.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,540,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,073,381. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $148.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.89.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 target price 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.67.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.