Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 25.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,032 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,714 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Defined Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,153 shares of the company's stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 76.3% during the first quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,691 shares of the company's stock worth $1,773,000 after acquiring an additional 4,628 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the first quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 12,281 shares of the company's stock worth $2,037,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at $842,000. Finally, Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ traded down $2.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $152.38. The company had a trading volume of 6,406,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,958,458. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.69. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 24.42% and a return on equity of 33.46%. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

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.