Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,273,936 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 554 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.6% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Johnson & Johnson worth $473,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third 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 stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at about $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $162.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $148.93 and a 200 day moving average of $155.90. The firm has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research started 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price target on shares of 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 issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

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.