Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Holdings Lifted by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 85.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 246,878 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,022 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 2.5% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $36,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after buying an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after buying an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth $331,178,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $165.52 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $398.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $159.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.04.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

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.