Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Acquired by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,955 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $1,339,878,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,666,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,698,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, 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 transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $159.90 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $385.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.01.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

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.