Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. Has $2.30 Million Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,878 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.1 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $165.22 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $152.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

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.