Janus Henderson Group PLC Boosts Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 134.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,559,147 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 0.6% of Janus Henderson Group PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.33% of Johnson & Johnson worth $1,149,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,339,878,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock worth $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company's stock worth $1,698,984,000 after buying an additional 1,660,458 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $153.98 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $157.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.29. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. 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 company has a market cap of $370.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued 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 an average target price of $171.82.

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.

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