World Investment Advisors Grows Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,923 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,187 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $13,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock worth $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company's stock worth $21,755,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,088 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock worth $8,321,881,000 after buying an additional 1,561,036 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,522,447,000 after buying an additional 431,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company'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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Raymond James cut 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded up $4.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $159.90. 13,243,050 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,757,538. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $385.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. 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 price of $159.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.01.

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

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.