River Street Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

River Street Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,080 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 459 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.5% of River Street Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $27,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% during the third quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 37.8% in the third quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $147.93 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $356.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $156.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.63.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.