AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,795,489 shares of the company’s stock after selling 470,221 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 0.6% of AQR Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $728,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the second quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 7,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the second quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 7,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the second quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of JNJ opened at $211.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $212.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $196.09 and a 200 day moving average of $177.08.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 32.73%. The business had revenue of $24.02 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Loop Capital set a $190.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.65.

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.