Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,535 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 0.4% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. 4J Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. My Personal CFO LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. FIDELIS iM LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. FIDELIS iM LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was 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 owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value 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 approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. HSBC raised 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. Raymond James upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $147.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $356.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

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.