Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 804,298 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 69.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,969,767 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 804,298 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.9% of Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $481,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blueline Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Johnson Rice set a $270.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $285.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.26.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

Here are the key news stories impacting Johnson & Johnson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to $287 from $265 and kept an outperform rating, implying additional upside as investors look ahead to earnings. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Several market watchers highlighted JNJ as a potential buy before earnings, pointing to its strong year-to-date move, recent all-time highs, and the appeal of its dividend as capital rotates into healthcare names. The Real Case for Buying Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Before July 15
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and stock commentary remain focused on JNJ’s upcoming quarterly results, with expectations centered on continued operational strength despite patent and competitive headwinds. Zacks: Is JNJ Stock a Buy, Sell or Hold Ahead of Q2 Earnings Release?
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market weakness weighed on Wall Street Monday, which could limit gains even for defensive names like JNJ. NASDAQ Snaps 3-Day Winning Streak as Oil Jumps Amid US-Iran Tensions
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings previews from Zacks, TipRanks, and Barron’s kept Johnson & Johnson in focus, but these pieces were mainly commentary ahead of the report rather than new company-specific catalysts. Zacks: Is Johnson & Johnson Stock Poised for New Highs as Q2 Results Approach?

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total value of $2,411,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at $27,560,551.20. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $257.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $154.80 and a 1 year high of $269.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $237.62 and its 200 day moving average is $233.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $620.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.24.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.60 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.58 earnings per share for the current year.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.