River Global Investors LLP Grows Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

River Global Investors LLP boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 691.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,492 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,629 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 1.1% of River Global Investors LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $6,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,685,000 after buying an additional 15,490 shares during the last quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,758,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,458,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $148.95 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.