Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Buys New Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $755,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 11,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $453,000. Horan Securities Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 205,580.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 10,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock worth $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Leerink Partnrs lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $152.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $366.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.69. 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 has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. On average, analysts expect 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 $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.84%.

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.

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