Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,589 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on JNJ. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $166.13 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $399.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.92.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. 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.