Advocate Group LLC Has $8.82 Million Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Advocate Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,953 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,171 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 1.7% of Advocate Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the third 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 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company's stock worth $9,064,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,763 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company's stock worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of JNJ traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $151.45. 3,205,079 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,516,245. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.76 and a 200-day moving average of $156.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $364.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.44.

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.