Norges Bank Takes $4.39 Billion Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 30,355,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,390,037,000. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 0.6% of Norges Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.26% of Johnson & Johnson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock worth $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $721,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 44.2% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 87,611 shares of the company's stock worth $14,198,000 after acquiring an additional 26,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 123,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,065,000 after acquiring an additional 14,185 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.50 on Friday, hitting $163.63. The company had a trading volume of 5,760,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,625,268. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $158.68 and a 200-day moving average of $156.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $394.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.