Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Purchased by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 65,024 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,794 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,698,984,000 after buying an additional 1,660,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,040,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Barclays raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $162.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $392.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. 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 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.34.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.