Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $1.34 Billion Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,264,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,339,878,000. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 0.5% of Raymond James Financial Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.38% of Johnson & Johnson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,040,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company's stock worth $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7,516.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,245,771 shares of the company's stock worth $180,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,414 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on JNJ. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Remove Ads

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $165.86 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $399.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The business's 50 day moving average price is $153.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.29.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JNJ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.