O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. Trims Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lowered its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 11.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,503 shares of the company’s stock after selling 436 shares during the quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 85,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,896,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,094,000 after acquiring an additional 51,716 shares during the period. Rodgers Brothers Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 65,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,154,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 17.1% during the third quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 79,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,311,000 after purchasing an additional 11,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,489,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,952,000 after purchasing an additional 43,003 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ traded up $0.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $148.75. 15,176,869 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,685,153. The firm has a market capitalization of $357.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 2.46 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $148.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The business 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 36.70%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. 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 currently 30.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on JNJ. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.