Ascent Group LLC Has $14.49 Million Holdings in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 159.2%, acquiring an additional 53,666 shares, resulting in total holdings worth approximately $14.5 million.
• Johnson & Johnson's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, with $2.77 earnings per share and revenues of $23.74 billion, reflecting a year-over-year revenue growth of 5.8%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, set to be paid on September 9, resulting in a 2.9% dividend yield.

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 159.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,381 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 53,666 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $14,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company's stock worth $7,502,000 after acquiring an additional 6,332 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 41,403 shares of the company's stock worth $5,648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 236.6% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 185,140 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,775,000 after buying an additional 130,140 shares in the last quarter. KKM Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 18,031 shares of the company's stock worth $2,608,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock worth $1,149,536,000 after buying an additional 4,559,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (up from $164.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.29.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $1.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $175.70. 6,890,535 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,620,031. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $169.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.02. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $181.16.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.61%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.