Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 998,761 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 303.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,328,414 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 998,761 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.0% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $192,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after buying an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock opened at $165.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $397.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $152.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.19.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was 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

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 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.