Pictet North America Advisors SA Buys 745 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Pictet North America Advisors SA increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 21.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,295 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the period. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,499 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489,925 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth about $331,178,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.4 %

JNJ stock opened at $163.45 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Daiwa America downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.93.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.