Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 50,353 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,343,140 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 50,353 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.6% of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.06% of Johnson & Johnson worth $222,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $1,339,878,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,196,596,000 after purchasing an additional 7,185,977 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock worth $1,149,536,000 after buying an additional 4,559,147 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock worth $4,456,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,235 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $149.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,870,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,024,991. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $154.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.64. The company has a market capitalization of $360.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99.

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 33.46% and a net margin of 24.42%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given 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 was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on JNJ. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.