Janus Henderson Group PLC Buys 724,501 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Janus Henderson Group boosted its Johnson & Johnson stake by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 724,501 shares and bringing its total holding to 7.72 million shares valued at about $1.6 billion.
• Johnson & Johnson beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, posting EPS of $2.70 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $24.06 billion versus $23.60 billion expected, with revenue up 9.9% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.34 per share from $1.30, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 2.3%; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $253.04.

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,723,981 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 724,501 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 0.7% of Janus Henderson Group PLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.32% of Johnson & Johnson worth $1,598,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,740,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,074 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 133,869,843 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,704,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,782 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,953,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,967,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,292 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $6,924,523,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,832,777 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,789,914,000 after purchasing an additional 956,239 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $233.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.93. The stock has a market cap of $561.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.26. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $149.04 and a 52 week high of $251.71.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $24.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.60 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $274.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total value of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at $27,560,551.20. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company's pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JNJ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.