Wambolt & Associates LLC Decreases Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Wambolt & Associates LLC lowered its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,353 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,957 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,723,000 after buying an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $365,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $721,000. Finally, Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $163.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $393.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $157.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.16. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 10th. Nine equities 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.