Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,422,482 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 155,308 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.06% of Johnson & Johnson worth $205,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $419,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $665,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 91,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,278,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,390,037,000. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,698,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on 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 restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $163.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $158.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.21. The firm has a market cap of $394.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.