Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $283.28 Million Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,807,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 98,713 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.5% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.08% of Johnson & Johnson worth $283,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,685,000 after buying an additional 15,490 shares in the last quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,758,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 4,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $1,458,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $151.16 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $175.97. The company has a market capitalization of $364.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.68%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.