Fred Alger Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,184 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 8.3% in the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth $1,474,000. City State Bank increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 8.4% during the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 13.0% in the second quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.9% in the second quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 577,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,386,000 after purchasing an additional 32,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $155.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $159.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.44. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85. The company has a market capitalization of $373.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.