Professional Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Professional Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,016 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $155.02 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $372.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $153.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.