Ethos Financial Group LLC Acquires 193 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,739 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $165.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $398.85 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a PEG 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 one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $152.52 and a 200-day moving average of $156.25.

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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

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.