Steph & Co. Buys 1,023 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Steph & Co. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 23.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,343 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% during the 4th quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.57 during trading on Monday, reaching $149.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,412,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,386,982. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.