Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 127,842 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,768 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 2.8% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $18,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Citizens & Northern Corp increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the second quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 16,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,643,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.6% during the second quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Outfitter Financial LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the second quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 16,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.5 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $165.52 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $398.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $159.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.94.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Daiwa America lowered Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.