Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 74,465 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,323,228 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,465 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.26% of Johnson & Johnson worth $914,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 45,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,323,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 557.2% during the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 51,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,304,000 after buying an additional 43,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $488,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.63 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.68 and a 200-day moving average of $156.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.