NFJ Investment Group LLC Takes $10.77 Million Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 74,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,774,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 2.3 %

JNJ stock traded up $3.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.42. The stock had a trading volume of 10,972,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,945,892. The company's 50-day moving average price is $159.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The firm has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.