Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 470.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 524,839 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 432,800 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $85,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 137.2% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,061,000 after buying an additional 25,203 shares during the period. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 32.7% during the third quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 87,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,125,000 after buying an additional 21,471 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

JNJ opened at $155.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $374.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.