World Equity Group Inc. Acquires 12,384 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

World Equity Group Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 99.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,872 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,384 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $162.75 on Thursday. 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 market cap of $391.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $150.08 and a 200 day moving average of $155.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.