Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Purchased by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 840,832 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,101 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.6% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $155,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Clark Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 51.6% during the second quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 8,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 632.0% during the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 89,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,536,000 after purchasing an additional 77,000 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 130,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,769 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,383,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 8.3% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 1,234,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,638,000 after buying an additional 94,957 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital set a $220.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.73.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $243.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $586.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.59. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $141.50 and a 52 week high of $246.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 28.46%.The firm had revenue of $24.28 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.