Northwest Financial Advisors Acquires 469 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Northwest Financial Advisors increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,919 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 469 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 1.2% of Northwest Financial Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Northwest Financial Advisors’ holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Quarry LP bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Ashburton Jersey Ltd bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth approximately $8,771,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,407,000. First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 62,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,178,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis Capital Management raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 10,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on JNJ. Bank of America reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $152.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $367.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.