Hennessy Advisors Inc. Purchases 10,000 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,550 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $146.16 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $351.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $148.14 and a 200-day moving average of $154.07.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.07.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.