Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases 7,475 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,183 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,475 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.8% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Poehling Capital Management INC. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 88.6% during the 2nd quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC. now owns 5,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 2,727 shares during the period. Stevard LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.7% in the second quarter. Stevard LLC now owns 3,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.2% in the second quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Rock Point Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% during the second quarter. Rock Point Advisors LLC now owns 6,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% during the second quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 127,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,685,000 after buying an additional 6,768 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $165.52 on Monday. The company has a 50-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 firm has a market cap of $398.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, September 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.21.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.