Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC Increases Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,158 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of 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 initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 30th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $149.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $147.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.54.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 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 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.