Alta Advisers Ltd Boosts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Alta Advisers Ltd raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 49.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,818 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.8% of Alta Advisers Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $290,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company's stock worth $7,502,000 after buying an additional 6,332 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 41,403 shares of the company's stock worth $5,648,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 13,466 shares of the company's stock worth $1,947,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,161 shares of the company's stock worth $2,482,000 after buying an additional 1,682 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $155.59 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $153.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.88. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 24.42%. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Leerink Partners cut Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.

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