Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 2,596 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. decreased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,068 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,596 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,339,878,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,196,596,000 after purchasing an additional 7,185,977 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,844,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,842,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,149,536,000 after acquiring an additional 4,559,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2%

JNJ stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $156.07. The stock had a trading volume of 6,140,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,049,705. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average is $153.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.25. The company has a market capitalization of $375.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.41.

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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 24.42% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Eleven 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

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.