AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 1,999 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,520 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,980,000 after buying an additional 111,570 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 9.0% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 4,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 39.4% during the third quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Bank lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $166.81 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.