Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Raises Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,669 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,418 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 2.0% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.2 %

JNJ stock opened at $167.08 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $151.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.08. The firm has a market cap of $402.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.