Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 595,290 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,435,359 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 595,290 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.7% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.72% of Johnson & Johnson worth $2,521,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, 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 transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $163.63 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $158.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.07. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $394.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

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.