Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Buys 439 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,831 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after buying an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,647,000 after buying an additional 2,064,175 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $193,050,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at $170,372,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.3 %

JNJ opened at $147.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $354.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $148.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.63 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HSBC raised 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.07.

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.