Northern Trust Corp Buys 3,363,235 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 0.6% of Northern Trust Corp's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.28% of Johnson & Johnson worth $4,456,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,984,838 shares of the company's stock worth $431,667,000 after acquiring an additional 92,927 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $459,000. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 35,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,103,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 34,659 shares of the company's stock worth $5,012,000 after buying an additional 6,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business'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 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 approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded up $1.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $156.06. 3,072,670 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,599,042. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $159.05 and a 200-day moving average of $154.73.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.