Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Buys New Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 431,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,859,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $40,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $166.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.73.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ traded up $0.38 on Friday, reaching $146.62. 8,324,900 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,123,697. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $353.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $156.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 71.78%.

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.