Criterion Capital Advisors LLC Takes $262,000 Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,061,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,112,000 after acquiring an additional 26,982 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,436,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,301,000 after purchasing an additional 12,867 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,396,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,198,000 after purchasing an additional 200,193 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,306,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,726,000 after buying an additional 120,891 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,957,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,370,000 after buying an additional 719,472 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $146.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $352.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $155.26 and a 200-day moving average of $155.32.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

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.