Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Acquires 4,954 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 107,589 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,954 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $16,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 4J Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. My Personal CFO LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookmont Capital Management grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 14,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised 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 research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $151.16 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $154.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $175.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $364.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 29.68%.

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.