Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 23.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,560 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,339,878,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,196,596,000 after buying an additional 7,185,977 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% in 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 period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock worth $4,456,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,235 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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. Leerink Partners cut shares of 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 report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $155.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $373.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $153.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.70.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Analysts forecast 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend 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.

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