River Road Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 38,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,093,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 216.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 380 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on JNJ. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $149.56 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.