Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Acquired by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 65,051 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,363 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.7% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 233,962,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,800,371,000 after buying an additional 1,170,120 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,943,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,131,723,000 after buying an additional 130,645 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,844,580,000 after buying an additional 4,842,582 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,899,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,133,602,000 after buying an additional 712,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,282,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,031,955,000 after buying an additional 448,666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total value of $10,041,108.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. This represents a 24.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $189.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $194.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.66. The company has a market cap of $455.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.40.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 32.73%. The business had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 50.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Johnson Rice set a $190.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $167.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.05.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.