Griffith & Werner Inc. Invests $4.07 Million in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Griffith & Werner Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 28,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,074,000. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 2.7% of Griffith & Werner Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $1,135,000. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $833,000. Retirement Planning Group LLC NY acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $483,000. Cache Advisors LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $455,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $8,728,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of JNJ stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $152.53. 2,573,172 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,940,292. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $154.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.65. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $367.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.88.

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.