Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 202,348 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $29,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after acquiring an additional 7,110 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $949,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $155.23 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $373.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. 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 3.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

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.