Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $135.19 Million Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 42.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 934,802 shares of the company's stock after selling 684,347 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $135,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock worth $8,321,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,036 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,390,037,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company's stock worth $3,522,447,000 after buying an additional 431,205 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,126,079 shares of the company's stock worth $2,766,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $157.68 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $159.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. 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 payout ratio is 57.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on 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 research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson 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.

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