Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Grows Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 104,692 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,420 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $16,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,664,620,000 after purchasing an additional 498,647 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,061,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,112,000 after buying an additional 26,982 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,436,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,301,000 after acquiring an additional 12,867 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,396,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,198,000 after buying an additional 200,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,306,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,726,000 after acquiring an additional 120,891 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $148.72 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.97. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The company has a market capitalization of $357.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid 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 3.34%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 29.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 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.