Bristlecone Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,296 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,007 shares during the quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 113.3% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 20.7% in the first quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 36,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,786,000 after purchasing an additional 6,268 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 19,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,066,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. American Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. American Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrinsic Value Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $144.61. 8,814,891 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,383,957. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $154.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 29.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price 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. Raymond James boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.