KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $151.54 Million Investment in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,047,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,535,000. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 0.7% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $163.40 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $156.99 and its 200-day moving average is $156.33. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced 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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.