Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Raised by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,518,301 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 286,239 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 0.6% of American Century Companies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.31% of Johnson & Johnson worth $1,087,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,980,000 after buying an additional 111,570 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,883,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth $365,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was 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

NYSE JNJ opened at $163.40 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $393.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.33. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Leerink Partners lowered 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

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.