Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 649,409 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,460,452 shares of the company’s stock after selling 649,409 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 1.0% of Nordea Investment Management AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.23% of Johnson & Johnson worth $1,128,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,877,174,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 15,040.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,420,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,512,000 after purchasing an additional 7,371,687 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 545.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,865,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $716,657,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266,354 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.3% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 13,354,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,512,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 126.3% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,584,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $664,575,000 after buying an additional 2,000,609 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $201.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.91.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total value of $1,508,287.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,598,700.17. This trade represents a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.66, for a total value of $324,762.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,251,310.02. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,142 shares of company stock worth $7,360,528 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE JNJ opened at $235.64 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $141.50 and a 12 month high of $251.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $235.73 and a 200-day moving average of $209.21. The company has a market cap of $567.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.34.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $24.28 billion for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.04%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.