Bell Asset Management Ltd Buys 15,093 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bell Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 105,889 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,093 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 2.5% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $16,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $4,071,642,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,175 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $193,050,000. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 89.9% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,251,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,713,000 after buying an additional 1,065,880 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 2,014,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,791,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,441 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.0 %

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.80. 8,874,403 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,504,418. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.99. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.