Bell Investment Advisors Inc Increases Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 872 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after buying an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,698,984,000 after buying an additional 1,660,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $225,040,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $166.81 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.24.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. 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. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.