Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV Purchases Shares of 4,319 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,755,874,000 after buying an additional 1,154,088 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,321,881,000 after buying an additional 1,561,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,522,447,000 after acquiring an additional 431,205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 7.6 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $153.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.99.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on JNJ. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.