Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Purchases 239 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,693 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,040,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,755,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $162.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.93 and a 200-day moving average of $155.88. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $390.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS 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. Shareholders 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 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on JNJ. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.