Griffith & Werner Inc. Invests $4.07 Million in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 28,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,074,000. Johnson & Johnson comprises 2.7% of Griffith & Werner Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,536,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559,147 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners lowered Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $153.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.84%.

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.