Hamlin Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Hamlin Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 836,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,772 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 4.1% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $173,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 7,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 11,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the third quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 7,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 4,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of JNJ opened at $235.64 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $235.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $567.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.34. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $141.50 and a 1-year high of $251.71.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The company had revenue of $24.28 billion during the quarter. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.33, for a total transaction of $5,527,477.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,540,469.77. The trade was a 45.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,700.17. This trade represents a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Loop Capital set a $220.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.91.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.