Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by Crestline Management LP

Crestline Management LP boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2,113.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 238,615 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227,837 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.1% of Crestline Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Crestline Management LP’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $34,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,723,000 after buying an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,424,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,438,000 after buying an additional 775,490 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 27,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,948,000 after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 7,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade 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 through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, 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. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $155.01 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $372.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $158.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays cut 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.82.

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.