Css LLC Il Raises Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

CSS LLC IL lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,627 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the period. CSS LLC IL's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,149,536,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559,147 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, 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 worth $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $153.12. 6,727,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,965,146. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $155.24 and a 200 day moving average of $153.69. The stock has a market cap of $368.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business'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 $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.