Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Buys 42,086 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 84.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,164 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,086 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $15,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 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 commented on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $155.19. The company had a trading volume of 6,007,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,945,129. The firm has a market capitalization of $373.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. 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's fifty day moving average is $153.52 and its 200 day moving average is $153.69. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99.

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 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.