Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Lifted by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,879 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,433,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 311.6% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 9,481 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,171,000. ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,576,000. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,956,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.5 %

JNJ stock opened at $166.13 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $168.85. 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 company has a market cap of $399.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.92.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.99%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JNJ. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.