Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Acquires 1,548 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) by 1.6%, acquiring an additional 1,548 shares, bringing its total holdings to 98,691 shares valued at approximately $16.37 million.
• Analysts have set an average target price of $174.50 for Johnson & Johnson, with a majority rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy." Barclays and UBS Group recently raised their price targets, indicating positive sentiment for the stock.
• Johnson & Johnson announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.0%, with the payment date set for September 9th.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,691 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $16,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 233,962,679 shares of the company's stock worth $38,800,371,000 after buying an additional 1,170,120 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock worth $4,456,201,000 after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock worth $3,844,580,000 after buying an additional 4,842,582 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,899,263 shares of the company's stock worth $3,133,602,000 after buying an additional 712,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,282,410 shares of the company's stock worth $3,031,955,000 after buying an additional 448,666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $167.00 target price (up previously from $164.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3%

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $174.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $175.72.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 55.61%.

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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