145,600 Shares in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 145,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,821,000. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.5% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,758,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 4,457 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,458,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, 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.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $147.93 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.97. The stock has a market cap of $356.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $156.15 and its 200-day moving average is $155.63.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

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.