Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 547,714 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,187,082 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 547,714 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.76% of Johnson & Johnson worth $2,630,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,040,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,229,414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine research 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, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $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

JNJ stock opened at $165.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $397.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.19. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced 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 return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

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.