First Merchants Corp Sells 2,894 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

First Merchants Corp cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,924 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,894 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 312,962 shares of the company's stock worth $45,261,000 after buying an additional 26,731 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 218.2% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,972 shares of the company's stock worth $1,298,000 after buying an additional 6,152 shares during the period. Newport Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Newport Capital Group LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the company's stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 18,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,823 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $21,441,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE JNJ traded up $2.94 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $157.93. 7,973,865 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,018,477. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.86. 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 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $380.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (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 34.24%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

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.