Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,586,490 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,836 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.6% of National Pension Service’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. National Pension Service’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $663,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Knuff & Co LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corepath Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock opened at $165.23 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 cap of $397.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.06. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $22.52 billion during 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 34.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. Research 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

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.