Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. Sells 69 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,452 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $262,000. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 64,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,145,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $146.13 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $155.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.32. The stock has a market cap of $352.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on JNJ. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.