ERn Financial LLC Acquires 521 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

ERn Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,705 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the quarter. ERn Financial LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,040,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $147.78 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $355.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.