Rafferty Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,467 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,660 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $39,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,149,536,000 after acquiring an additional 4,559,147 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business'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. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.2%

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $1.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $151.37. The stock had a trading volume of 8,045,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,943,689. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $156.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $364.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.