Swiss National Bank Raises Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,143,707 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,900 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 0.8% of Swiss National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,157,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JNJ. Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Lmcg Investments LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 32.7% in the third quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 87,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,125,000 after acquiring an additional 21,471 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7.3% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 61,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,998,000 after acquiring an additional 4,174 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Haims Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.4% in the first quarter. Cooper Haims Advisors LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 11.3% in the third quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,347,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $154.00 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $161.35 and a 200 day moving average of $156.10. The company has a market capitalization of $370.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson 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.