Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,753 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $28,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during 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 buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,698,984,000 after buying 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 valued at $225,040,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

JNJ opened at $166.81 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.24. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The company has a market capitalization of $401.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. 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 (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.