Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Purchased by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,928 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ehrlich Financial Group acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth approximately $200,000. McNamara Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.8% during the first quarter. McNamara Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 51.5% during the first quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the period. Prospect Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at $268,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 14.6% during the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 62,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,300,000 after buying an additional 8,048 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $155.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $372.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $153.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partners lowered Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.