Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Acquired by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 118,700 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,977 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $17,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted 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 valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $69,859,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:JNJ traded down $2.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.35. 9,097,317 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,923,271. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.95. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $374.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current 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. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

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.