Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 847 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,476 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.0% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,859,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $3,391,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $163.63 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.