West Family Investments Inc. Purchases 1,087 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

West Family Investments Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,060 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% during the third quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson 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 $148.57 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $357.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 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.