Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 24,450.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,215,367 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,185,977 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.30% of Johnson & Johnson worth $1,196,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of JNJ opened at $153.44 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.63.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The company 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on JNJ. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.88.

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.