Argyle Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,191 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,025 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.5% of Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% in the third quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $149.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $154.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.08. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

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.