New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,192,169 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,767 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises 0.8% of New York State Common Retirement Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Johnson & Johnson worth $529,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.01 on Monday, reaching $156.91. 10,184,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,032,256. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $377.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. 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 (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $1.30 dividend. 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 3.31%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.00.

Johnson & Johnson 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.