Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Acquires 96 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,909 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,082,000. Sienna Gestion grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 18.5% during the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 100,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,717,000 after purchasing an additional 15,761 shares during the period. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% in the second quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% during the second quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 28,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miramar Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at $258,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.71.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $147.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $148.86 and a 200-day moving average of $156.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $355.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

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.