Guardian Wealth Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,101 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,884 shares during the quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFS Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $154.54. The company had a trading volume of 8,642,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,921,500. The stock has a market cap of $372.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $159.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 57.84%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

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.