Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Invests $42.90 Million in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 296,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,901,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $152.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $366.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.80.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current 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 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.88.

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.