Meritage Portfolio Management Has $8.66 Million Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,220 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring 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 Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,664,620,000 after buying an additional 498,647 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,061,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,112,000 after acquiring an additional 26,982 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,436,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,301,000 after acquiring an additional 12,867 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,396,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,198,000 after purchasing an additional 200,193 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,306,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,726,000 after purchasing an additional 120,891 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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 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 research report on Monday, April 15th. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $146.84 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $155.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.23. 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 posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 29.68%.

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.