Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,213 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,179 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $156.20 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $376.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.