Transce3nd LLC Invests $163,000 in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $1,339,878,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,698,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,458 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $157.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $159.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.95.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.