Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Increases Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,919 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ledyard National Bank grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 58,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 589,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,401,000 after buying an additional 35,921 shares during the period. LWM Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $305,000. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 22,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,542,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $149.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $154.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.02.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $1.24 dividend. This is a boost 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 3.32%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 29.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson 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.