AlphaCentric Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 18,176 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,629,000. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 2.6% of AlphaCentric Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $157.93 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $380.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.