Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,814 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.0% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $13,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,723,000 after acquiring an additional 329,473 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $721,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 44.2% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 87,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,198,000 after purchasing an additional 26,869 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 123,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,065,000 after purchasing an additional 14,185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $161.64 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $389.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.18.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Insider Activity

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

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.