170,120 Shares in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Acquired by Heritage Trust Co

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 170,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,603,000. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 2.9% of Heritage Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $562,723,000 after acquiring an additional 329,473 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $242,000. Invst LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company's stock worth $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 8,207 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Passumpsic Savings Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $262,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ traded down $0.92 on Tuesday, hitting $153.44. The company had a trading volume of 5,229,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,954,012. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company's fifty day moving average price is $159.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.11. The stock has a market cap of $369.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on JNJ. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.50.

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.