Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Reduces Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lessened its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 25.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,714 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $156.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $377.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $153.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.72. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

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

About Johnson & Johnson

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.