Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Holdings Lifted by Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,494 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 1.2% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $290,000. Capital & Planning LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,886,000. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 7,186 shares of the company's stock worth $1,039,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $152.27. The stock had a trading volume of 9,539,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,997,622. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $154.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.69. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The company has a market capitalization of $366.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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 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 company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

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.