Fred Alger Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 48.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,110 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,926 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,339,878,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,698,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,458 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $155.64 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-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 company has a 50-day moving average of $158.12 and a 200 day moving average of $154.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during 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, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.