Baird Financial Group Inc. Buys 164,106 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% during the first quarter, holding approximately 4,094,430 shares valued at $679 million.
• Several analysts have optimistic forecasts for Johnson & Johnson, with price targets ranging from $167.00 to $185.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Johnson & Johnson declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.9%, and plans to distribute it on September 9th.

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,094,430 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 164,106 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.3% of Baird Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.17% of Johnson & Johnson worth $679,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 8,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 463,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,889,000 after purchasing an additional 98,955 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3,364.3% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 485 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 148,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,573,000 after purchasing an additional 5,870 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,387,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $561,793,000 after purchasing an additional 402,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $177.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,998,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,948,860. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $181.16. The stock has a market cap of $428.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $166.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.21.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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 $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.29.

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.