Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Grows Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 179,539 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 0.9% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $25,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $2.07 on Monday, hitting $144.13. 4,853,680 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,561,123. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $347.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $166.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.71.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.