Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Raised by Fiera Capital Corp

27 May 2020, 14:26 by Danessa Lincoln

Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,931,498 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 580,576 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 3.8% of Fiera Capital Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.26% of Johnson & Johnson worth $908,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $4,139,107,000. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 77.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,725,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,332,000 after buying an additional 2,061,958 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 11,147,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,461,807,000 after buying an additional 2,003,900 shares during the period. M&G Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $269,234,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,399,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,371,080,000 after buying an additional 1,599,581 shares during the period. 68.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Several research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $173.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $163.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. SVB Leerink dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $161.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $163.47.

NYSE:JNJ opened at $144.56 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $109.16 and a fifty-two week high of $157.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.57.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 24.47% and a return on equity of 39.71%. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 7.68 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a $1.01 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.54%.

In related news, Director William D. Perez acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $127.69 per share, with a total value of $63,845.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,046,870.70. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches and develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the health care field worldwide. It operates in three segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Devices. The Consumer segment offers baby care products under the JOHNSON'S brand; oral care products under the LISTERINE brand; beauty products under the AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, DABAO, JOHNSON'S Adult, LE PETITE MARSEILLAIS, NEUTROGENA, and OGX brands; over-the-counter medicines, including acetaminophen products under the TYLENOL brand; cold, flu, and allergy products under the SUDAFED brand; allergy products under the BENADRYL and ZYRTEC brands; ibuprofen products under the MOTRIN IB brand; and acid reflux products under the PEPCID brand.