Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 2,557,388 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 159.6% in Q2, owning 4.16 million shares worth approximately $635.33 million.
• Johnson & Johnson reported Q2 earnings of $2.77 per share, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $23.74 billion, marking a 5.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.0% with a payout ratio of 55.61%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 159.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,159,260 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,557,388 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 0.9% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.17% of Johnson & Johnson worth $635,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth $1,369,188,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock worth $1,196,596,000 after buying an additional 7,185,977 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 worth $3,844,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,842,582 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1,382.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,030,084 shares of the company's stock worth $502,509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,825,626 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth about $401,420,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. This trade represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded up $2.65 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $176.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,013,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,908,594. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $425.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.40. The business's 50 day moving average price is $173.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.69. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $181.16.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on JNJ shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.40.

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.