Empire Financial Management Company LLC Grows Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Empire Financial Management Company LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,882 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,732 shares during the period. Empire Financial Management Company LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company's stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $69,859,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $155.35 on Thursday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $159.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $374.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Nine equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.82.

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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