Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,268 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,937 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 3.3% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $15,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,664,620,000 after acquiring an additional 498,647 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,061,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,112,000 after acquiring an additional 26,982 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,436,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,301,000 after acquiring an additional 12,867 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,396,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,198,000 after acquiring an additional 200,193 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,306,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,726,000 after acquiring an additional 120,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following 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. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.5 %

JNJ stock opened at $144.61 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $154.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.14. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $348.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 29.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

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.