Provence Wealth Management Group Buys 113 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Provence Wealth Management Group increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,007 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Provence Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew 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 worth $950,112,000 after acquiring an additional 26,982 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,396,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,198,000 after acquiring an additional 200,193 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,306,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,726,000 after buying an additional 120,891 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

JNJ stock opened at $148.95 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The stock has a market cap of $358.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $153.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is an increase 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 presently 30.92%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.