Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Has $1.07 Million Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP cut its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,818 shares of the company’s stock after selling 194 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 1.4% of Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 54,326,454 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,458,962,000 after acquiring an additional 4,521,062 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $4,609,399,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,189,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,046,449,000 after acquiring an additional 328,297 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,287,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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 and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ traded up $0.97 on Thursday, reaching $145.74. The stock had a trading volume of 9,867,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,254,172. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $156.32 and a 200-day moving average of $155.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $351.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.68%.

Insider Activity

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

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.