Woodline Partners LP Buys 168,616 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 54.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 478,783 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 168,616 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $69,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock worth $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock worth $8,321,881,000 after buying an additional 1,561,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock worth $4,456,201,000 after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company's stock worth $3,522,447,000 after buying an additional 431,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.3%

Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $153.17. The stock had a trading volume of 7,029,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,972,755. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $368.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $155.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JNJ. Barclays reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

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.