Lazari Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,277 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $908,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $153.46 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $369.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.