Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Boosted by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 48.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 67,110 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,926 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $453,000. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $155.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $158.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.44. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $374.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson 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.