Van Strum & Towne Inc. Boosts Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,497 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 2.6% of Van Strum & Towne Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Van Strum & Towne Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Syverson Strege & Co increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% during the first quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the first quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $767,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% during the first quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. now owns 6,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $172.87.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3%

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $164.21. 377,529 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,111,425. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $154.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $395.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.07% and a net margin of 25.00%. The company's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

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.

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