Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. Takes $999,000 Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,000. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 1.5% of Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,321,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,522,447,000 after acquiring an additional 431,205 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $153.12 on Monday. 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 has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $155.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.