Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $25.56 Million Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 161,544 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,252 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.9% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $25,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the fourth 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 period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% during the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $145.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $350.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $148.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given 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 was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

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.