Ethic Inc. Buys 17,657 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,979 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,657 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $14,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $453,000. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

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

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $155.64 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $158.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.44. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

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.