Meritage Portfolio Management Acquires 2,473 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,220 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,685,000 after purchasing an additional 15,490 shares during the last quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co boosted its stake 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 valued at $11,758,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 4,457 shares during the period. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $1,458,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

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

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $146.84 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $155.07 and a 200 day moving average of $155.23. The firm has a market cap of $353.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. 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. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.