Independence Bank of Kentucky Raises Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,524 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.1% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,175 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $193,050,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $170,372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $146.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $351.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $175.97.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a 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 payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.