Capital Research Global Investors Grows Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 114.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,453,820 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,311,736 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 0.10% of Johnson & Johnson worth $354,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carbahal Olsen Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $312,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,773,493 shares of the company's stock worth $2,136,390,000 after purchasing an additional 636,430 shares in the last quarter. Edgar Lomax Co. VA lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 85.4% during the 4th quarter. Edgar Lomax Co. VA now owns 379,340 shares of the company's stock worth $54,860,000 after buying an additional 174,700 shares during the last quarter. Elevatus Welath Management boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Elevatus Welath Management now owns 1,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,959,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,394,000 after buying an additional 115,494 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price target 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, 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 at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents 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 Price Performance

JNJ stock traded down $1.90 on Thursday, reaching $153.48. 3,254,384 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,765,719. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $159.52 and a 200-day moving average of $154.95. The firm has a market cap of $369.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.84%.

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.