Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,054 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,902 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $40,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Barclays raised their target price 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. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $165.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.25.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.