River Road Asset Management LLC Makes New $6.09 Million Investment in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 38,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,093,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,758,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,458,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after buying an additional 2,102 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3 %

JNJ stock opened at $149.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $360.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $155.83 and a 200-day moving average of $155.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.