NewEdge Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 295,396 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,659 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $42,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $1,339,878,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,706 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company's stock worth $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,698,984,000 after buying an additional 1,660,458 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Leerink Partners cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % 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 Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded up $3.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.42. The stock had a trading volume of 10,972,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,953,112. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $159.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.03. 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 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.