Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Acquired by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 175.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,507 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,153 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $290,000. Capital & Planning LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,502,000 after buying an additional 6,332 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,886,000. Finally, Adero Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 13,233 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 2,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $156.90. 6,587,488 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,947,693. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $377.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Bank of America cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Benchmark upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.