Burling Wealth Partners LLC Takes $3.91 Million Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Burling Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,908,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 76,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,055,000 after acquiring an additional 7,454 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 7,918 shares of the company's stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 321,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,516,000 after buying an additional 9,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Leerink Partners lowered 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $155.35 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $159.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.95. The company has a market cap of $374.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. 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 has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

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.

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