Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 6,640 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC raised its stock position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.0%, owning a total of 73,230 shares valued at approximately $12.1 million after acquiring additional shares in the first quarter.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings and price targets for Johnson & Johnson, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $174.50.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a yield of 3.11% for investors.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 10.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,230 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,640 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $12,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded up $2.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.33. 8,914,735 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,384,981. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $402.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $157.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.60.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

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.