Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,906 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,733 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 0.7% of Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $22,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Rogco LP raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 12,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640 shares during the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 50,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,876,000 after acquiring an additional 5,692 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 100,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,827,000 after acquiring an additional 7,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckhead Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 46,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 note on Wednesday, April 17th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $148.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The stock has a market cap of $357.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $153.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.00.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders 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 represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 is available at this link. 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 in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.