ING Groep NV Purchases 193,689 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

ING Groep NV lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 58.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 524,810 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 193,689 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $75,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Knuff & Co LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the third quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Corepath Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $162.35 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.86. The company has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $168.85.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

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.