Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 589,516 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,921 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $92,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 4J Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. My Personal CFO LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Brookmont Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 14,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were 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 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 business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $149.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $359.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $154.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.02. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for 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 36.70%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

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.