Swiss National Bank Cuts Position in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,935,707 shares of the company’s stock after selling 359,100 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.7% of Swiss National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Johnson & Johnson worth $1,286,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 707.1% during the third quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JNJ. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Loop Capital set a $220.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.87.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.66, for a total transaction of $324,762.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,251,310.02. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total value of $1,508,287.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,700.17. This represents a 21.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,142 shares of company stock worth $7,360,528. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE JNJ opened at $240.57 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $228.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $579.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.34. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $141.50 and a 52 week high of $251.71.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.