West Tower Group LLC Invests $419,000 in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

West Tower Group LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Swedbank AB grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,980,000 after purchasing an additional 111,570 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, OneAscent Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $164.24 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” 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 assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson 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.