QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 497,400 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,454 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.9% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $82,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned 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 target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $155.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $373.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $153.96 and a 200 day moving average of $153.70. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. 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 (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.