Voleon Capital Management LP Takes Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 113,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,408,000. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 1.2% of Voleon Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $155.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $375.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $159.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.