Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by Wasatch Advisors LP

Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 41,954 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,338 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $6,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 295,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,720,000 after acquiring an additional 14,659 shares during the period. Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $2,158,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $10,774,000. Finward Bancorp acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $1,554,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 291,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,206,000 after acquiring an additional 26,674 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $153.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $371.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $159.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.10.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 74.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.78.

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.