Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 798,414 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,228 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $115,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 14.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 425,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,985,000 after buying an additional 52,997 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Creative Planning grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 988,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,181,000 after purchasing an additional 41,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,980,000 after purchasing an additional 111,570 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $156.20 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.00. The stock has a market cap of $376.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for 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 34.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 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.