Ballast Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Ballast Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,399 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.0% of Ballast Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, July 1st. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $149.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $360.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $147.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.50. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

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.