Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Holdings Cut by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 25.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,714 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on JNJ shares. 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America decreased their target price 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 decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $156.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $377.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.72. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 57.84%.

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.