Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Invests $1.10 Million in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 5,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 262.9% in the third quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 254 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on JNJ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Argus set a $210.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.25.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $207.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $499.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.34. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $215.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $201.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.07.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.19%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.