Sutton Place Investors LLC Grows Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sutton Place Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1,472.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,663 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,349 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises 2.3% of Sutton Place Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Sutton Place Investors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,607,414,000 after purchasing an additional 54,326,454 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,458,962,000 after acquiring an additional 4,521,062 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,609,399,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,189,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,046,449,000 after acquiring an additional 328,297 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.0% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,287,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,868,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,278,512 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $144.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.39 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $156.80 and its 200-day moving average is $155.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 37.27% and a net margin of 37.79%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 34.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.