Synergy Asset Management LLC Acquires 6,844 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 116.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,734 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,844 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5 %

JNJ opened at $152.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $366.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $147.61 and a 200-day moving average of $156.13.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% 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 period last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America lowered their price target 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, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.44.

Johnson & Johnson 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.