Washington Trust Bank Buys 828 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Washington Trust Bank increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,163 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $35,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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, February 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $393.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $156.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.33. 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 has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.