Wealth Alliance Boosts Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,836 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $162.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.93 and a 200 day moving average of $155.86. The company has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

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.