Hamlin Capital Management LLC Acquires 94,147 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,076,740 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 94,147 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 3.9% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $155,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,755,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,088 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $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.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $146.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $352.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.06.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.