Hardy Reed LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Hardy Reed LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,901 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after buying an additional 7,110 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $949,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $162.35 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $148.93 and its 200 day moving average is $155.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.