South Dakota Investment Council Purchases 2,500 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

South Dakota Investment Council raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 229,647 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.7% of South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $33,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,755,874,000 after buying an additional 1,154,088 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,064,149,000 after buying an additional 1,004,763 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $162.75 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $391.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $150.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.97. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

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.