Elefante Mark B Purchases Shares of 18,738 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Elefante Mark B bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,710,000. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 2.5% of Elefante Mark B’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 43,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,324,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 56,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,181,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction 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 $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the 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 $2,357,552.70. The trade was 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 currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $155.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $374.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $158.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.44. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.82.

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.