Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,772,112 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 332,145 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.6% of Cerity Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Johnson & Johnson worth $293,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 11,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $453,000. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the first quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 74,132 shares of the company's stock worth $12,294,000 after buying an additional 2,526 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 205,580.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 10,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,635,000 after buying an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $0.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $156.87. The stock had a trading volume of 7,866,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,077,942. The business's 50-day moving average price is $153.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.49. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $377.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.41.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 24.42% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. 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 payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.00.

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.