Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $290,000. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the company's stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Tide Cove Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,448,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 12,161 shares of the company's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Benchmark upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE JNJ traded up $0.52 on Thursday, reaching $152.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,353,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,931,169. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $368.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The company's fifty day moving average is $154.63 and its 200-day moving average is $153.64.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 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.