Bell Investment Advisors Inc Raises Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 872 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,040,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Raymond James dropped 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $166.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $401.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $152.95 and a 200 day moving average of $156.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.