Meridian Wealth Partners LLC Has $422,000 Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,919 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 237 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake 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 valued at $549,223,000 after buying an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in 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 grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in 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 acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,040,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $163.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.25. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

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.