Sovran Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 22,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,288,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the third quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased 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. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $156.20 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 firm has a market cap of $376.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.73 and its 200-day moving average is $156.01.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly 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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

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.