First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 5,692 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,246 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,692 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 0.7% of First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $148.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $153.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.00.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.