Stephens Inc. AR Purchases 793 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 202,348 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $29,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 425,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,985,000 after acquiring an additional 52,997 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 4,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 988,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,181,000 after buying an additional 41,082 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $155.23 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.01. The stock has a market cap of $373.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.