Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Grows Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 9.4% during the first quarter, holding 361,775 shares worth approximately $60 million.
• Several brokerages raised their price targets for Johnson & Johnson shares recently, with UBS Group setting a goal of $190 and Barclays at $176, reflecting positive sentiment among analysts.
• Johnson & Johnson announced a $1.30 quarterly dividend, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%, with the payout ratio currently at 55.61%.

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 361,775 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,232 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $59,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $47,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on JNJ. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $176.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $161.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $177.27.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

Johnson & Johnson 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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