Ames National Corp Buys New Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Ames National Corp acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,903,000. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 1.2% of Ames National Corp's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company's stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company's stock worth $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $153.58 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.80. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $21.89 billion during 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%. Analysts forecast 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 dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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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