ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 9,041 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 198,306 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,041 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.6% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $31,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 216.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity 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 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. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $146.82 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $155.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.41. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 29.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on JNJ. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.