Norris Perne & French LLP MI Grows Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,328 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,203 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $16,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,175 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $193,050,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $170,372,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $146.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $351.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.14 and a 200 day moving average of $154.06. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC raised 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 research note on Thursday, April 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.