Leelyn Smith LLC Increases Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Leelyn Smith LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,056 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock opened at $162.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $155.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.26. The company has a market capitalization of $392.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JNJ. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

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.