B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Buys New Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 444,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,049,000. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.7% of B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company's stock worth $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,171,357,000 after purchasing an additional 437,637 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Daiwa America lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value 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 trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ traded down $1.80 on Tuesday, hitting $152.97. 8,231,159 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,024,149. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $161.11 and a 200-day moving average of $156.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $368.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. Johnson & Johnson's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 71.78%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.