Guinness Asset Management LTD Raises Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,393,460 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,338 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 3.8% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $201,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $145.39 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $148.26 and its 200 day moving average is $156.12. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $350.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22,438,500 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.27.

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.