Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 329,473 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $562,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montecito Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the third quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 21,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,459,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 85,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,884,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 100,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,324,000 after acquiring an additional 7,396 shares in the last quarter. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, David J Yvars Group bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $156.71 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $162.96 and its 200 day moving average is $155.76. The company has a market cap of $377.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.00.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.