Axa S.A. Buys 73,756 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Axa S.A. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 765,551 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,756 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $110,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $156.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $375.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $158.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.67. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

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.