Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,306,135 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,607 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 0.5% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $188,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corepath Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim lifted their price target 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, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $166.81 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.24. 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 has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’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 approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.