Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Purchased by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,467 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,471 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $18,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 329,473 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,424,675 shares of the company's stock worth $926,438,000 after acquiring an additional 775,490 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 27,300 shares of the company's stock worth $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Market Strategies LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 7,723 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $156.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $375.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $158.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.61. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 57.84%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm'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 value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.82.

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.

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