Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 296,648 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 296,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,901,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Wall Street Zen cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $152.50. 7,528,277 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,976,459. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.79. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

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.