Xponance Inc. Buys 30,220 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 344,420 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,220 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 0.6% of Xponance Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $53,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,647,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064,175 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 89.9% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,251,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,880 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 190.5% during the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,494,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,843,000 after purchasing an additional 980,297 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2,264.8% in the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 822,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,139,000 after purchasing an additional 787,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,957,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,370,000 after buying an additional 719,472 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $148.53 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $155.69 and its 200 day moving average is $155.47. The firm has a market cap of $357.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

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.