AlphaQuest LLC Sells 2,109 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 15.8%, selling 2,109 shares and leaving it with 11,229 shares valued at approximately $1.7 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard and Bank of New York Mellon Corp, have increased their holdings in Johnson & Johnson, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Johnson & Johnson is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.30 on December 9th, representing an annualized yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 50.19%.

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,229 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,109 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 233,962,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,800,371,000 after buying an additional 1,170,120 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,943,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,131,723,000 after buying an additional 130,645 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,844,580,000 after buying an additional 4,842,582 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,899,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,133,602,000 after buying an additional 712,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,282,410 shares of the company's stock worth $3,031,955,000 after purchasing an additional 448,666 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total value of $10,041,108.51. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. This represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley set a $190.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $190.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.05.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $190.38 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $194.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $182.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.13. The firm has a market cap of $458.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.40.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 32.73%. The business had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.19%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.