Principal Securities Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,881 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,232 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after buying an additional 754,200 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after buying an additional 1,829,257 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,357,000 after buying an additional 437,637 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $160.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $385.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.