Gradient Investments LLC Increases Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 220,249 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,641 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $36,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Leerink Partners cut Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Benchmark upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $153.24. The stock had a trading volume of 2,175,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,917,446. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company's 50-day moving average price is $153.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.67.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. As a group, 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

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.