AJOVista LLC Buys Shares of 1,200 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% in the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake 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 raised 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 worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $148.95 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $153.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.97. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $175.97. The stock has a market cap of $358.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. 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 released its 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 company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

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.