Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada Acquires Shares of 26,503 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 26,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,833,000. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 9.7% of Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade 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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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.50.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5 %

JNJ traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $153.66. 10,723,823 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,973,459. 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 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The stock's 50-day moving average is $159.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.11. The stock has a market cap of $370.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Sell-side 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 dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

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.