Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Grows Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 52,051 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.6% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 7.6 %

JNJ opened at $153.25 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $159.16 and its 200-day moving average is $155.99. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued 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 3.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other 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 value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

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.