Bridgefront Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 2,689 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 509.9% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 13,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,932,000 after acquiring an additional 11,167 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $416,000. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 47,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,877,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427 shares during the period. Finally, InvesTrust acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $6,355,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $154.60 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $371.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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