Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Boosted by Rockbridge Investment Management LCC

Rockbridge Investment Management LCC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,223 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 399 shares during the quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,755,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,088 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,064,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,763 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,187,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,630,216,000 after purchasing an additional 547,714 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $161.64 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $158.04 and a 200-day moving average of $156.18. The stock has a market cap of $389.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.