Financial Symmetry Inc Takes $207,000 Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Financial Symmetry Inc bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HTLF Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,751,000. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 10,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,627,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after buying an additional 4,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 344,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,984,000 after buying an additional 30,220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.7 %

JNJ opened at $148.53 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $155.69 and a 200-day moving average of $155.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company 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 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’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 directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a 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 completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, April 15th. 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 note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. 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 note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.