Criterion Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Criterion Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,417 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% during the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Eight 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $146.16 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $148.14 and a 200-day moving average of $154.06. The stock has a market cap of $351.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.