Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 1,831,751 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 0.8% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,744,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,454,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 5,680 shares in the last quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. now owns 49,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,768,000 after buying an additional 2,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $533,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on JNJ. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $165.52 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $398.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.94. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.