Aspetuck Financial Management LLC Buys New Shares in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Aspetuck Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $566,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,706 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock worth $8,321,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock worth $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company's stock worth $3,522,447,000 after purchasing an additional 431,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $152.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $366.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.71. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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 33.46% and a net margin of 24.42%. On average, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Leerink Partners cut Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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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