Smith & Howard Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Smith & Howard Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 78.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,985 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,634 shares during the quarter. Smith & Howard Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $146.13 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $175.97. The stock has a market cap of $352.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $155.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.32.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.