Quarry LP Invests $459,000 in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Quarry LP bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock worth $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,668,000 after buying an additional 8,207 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,180,000 after acquiring an additional 4,640 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $155.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,692,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,621,001. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.24 and a 200 day moving average of $154.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $373.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.