Amundi Has $1.70 Billion Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Amundi raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,660,458 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.6% of Amundi’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Amundi’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,698,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 note on Saturday, January 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $166.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $401.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $152.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.28.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.