Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Lifted by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,210 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $6,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Raymond James Financial cut 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. Bank of America reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Leerink Partners cut Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Eleven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $152.58. The stock had a trading volume of 9,000,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,022,753. The firm has a market capitalization of $367.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.81. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 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.