Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Has $1.86 Million Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,854 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.9% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after buying an additional 2,356,359 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,040,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,755,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,088 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $166.13 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.92. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $399.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

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.