North Star Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

North Star Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 27,616 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Clark Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 51.6% during the second quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 8,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 23,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 234,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 73,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,164,000 after purchasing an additional 4,816 shares during the period. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% in the first quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 16,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Guggenheim raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $167.00 to $206.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $212.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at $31,652,491.53. This trade represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $206.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $206.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $188.83 and a 200-day moving average of $172.13. The company has a market capitalization of $496.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.38.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.73% and a net margin of 27.26%.The business had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 50.19%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.