Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Reduces Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,185 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,868 shares during the period. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 6,332 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 41,403 shares of the company's stock worth $5,648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 19,951 shares of the company's stock worth $2,885,000 after purchasing an additional 3,594 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10,455.7% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 144,402 shares of the company's stock worth $20,883,000 after purchasing an additional 143,034 shares during the period. Finally, Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $3,252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday. Benchmark upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Eleven equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.00.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $156.87. The stock had a trading volume of 7,866,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,066,975. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.73 and a 200-day moving average of $154.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $377.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.41.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 24.42%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 57.84%.

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.