Kennondale Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 38,293 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 38,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,538,000. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 4.5% of Kennondale Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after buying an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,698,984,000 after buying an additional 1,660,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $225,040,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $162.94 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The stock has a market cap of $392.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $155.37 and a 200-day moving average of $156.26.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

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.