Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Position Trimmed by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,269 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,080 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.2% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,859,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,391,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on JNJ. Raymond James decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $163.63 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $394.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $158.68 and a 200-day moving average of $156.21. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.