Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by Exeter Financial LLC

Exeter Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 18.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,518 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,417 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 2.1% of Exeter Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Exeter Financial LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during 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 lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,321,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,036 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th 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. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. 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, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $154.27. 2,199,865 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,926,302. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $371.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50-day moving average price is $154.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.66.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 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.