Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 23.1%, now owning over 7.7 million shares valued at approximately $1.29 billion.
• The company reported earnings per share of $2.77 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates and showing a revenue increase of 5.8% year-over-year.
• Johnson & Johnson declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 55.61%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 23.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,786,250 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,463,022 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.32% of Johnson & Johnson worth $1,291,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 233,962,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,800,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,120 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,943,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,131,723,000 after purchasing an additional 130,645 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% in 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. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,133,602,000 after buying an additional 712,181 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% during 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 buying an additional 448,666 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $178.20. 9,733,095 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,556,979. 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's 50 day moving average price is $168.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.60. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $181.16. The company has a market cap of $429.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.40.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $23.74 billion during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 55.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.29.

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.