Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Purchases 195 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,854 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.9% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at about $225,040,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,755,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,088 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.5 %

JNJ opened at $166.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business 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 firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.