Barings LLC Acquires 781 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Barings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 57.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,148 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the quarter. Barings LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $166.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $152.95 and a 200-day moving average of $156.28. The company has a market cap of $401.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.