Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. Has $2.29 Million Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 107 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 1.4% of Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. VELA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 212.4% in the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 31,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,594,000 after acquiring an additional 21,371 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 698,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,109,000 after acquiring an additional 7,801 shares in the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 34.0% in the second quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 207,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,321,000 after purchasing an additional 52,585 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $166.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ traded down $0.81 on Monday, reaching $143.38. 7,871,547 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,727,147. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.28. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $142.75 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $345.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.