Asset Management Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,489 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Asset Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third 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. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $406,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,424,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,438,000 after acquiring an additional 775,490 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $156.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $158.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on JNJ. Bank of America cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.82.

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.