Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Purchases 100 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,567 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $167.08 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $151.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.08. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $402.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 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.