ING Groep NV Boosts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 58.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 524,810 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 193,689 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $75,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake 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 worth $21,755,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,088 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,064,149,000 after buying an additional 1,004,763 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $162.35 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $148.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.