ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 2,851 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 211,708 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,851 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $35,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $155.90 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $153.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 2.36 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 24.42%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock 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 lowered their target price for the company from $169.00 to $153.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. 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. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

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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