Principal Securities Inc. Boosts Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,192 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,311 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Knuff & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corepath Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $2.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $162.35. 12,540,171 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,073,381. The firm has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.61 and a 200 day moving average of $155.89.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on JNJ. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.67.

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.