Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 28.9% during the first quarter, owning nearly 80,000 shares valued at approximately $14.3 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Geode Capital Management and Northern Trust Corp, also reported increases in their holdings, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Johnson & Johnson reported earnings of $2.77 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, with a yield of 3.13%.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 28.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,882 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,890 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $14,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company's stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 12,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,151,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial lowered 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $167.00 price objective (up previously from $164.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.5%

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $2.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $167.17. 5,337,337 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,049,290. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $157.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The business had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

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.