Pineridge Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 48.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 780 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,755,874,000 after buying an additional 1,154,088 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,064,149,000 after buying an additional 1,004,763 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $157.24 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $378.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.