Perpetual Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Perpetual Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $549,223,000 after buying an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,040,000. Finally, 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 valued at $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $146.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $352.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $148.10 and its 200 day moving average is $156.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22,438,500 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

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.