Hilltop Holdings Inc. Raises Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,701 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,685,000 after purchasing an additional 15,490 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 19,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,458,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ traded down $2.73 on Friday, hitting $146.97. The company had a trading volume of 9,520,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,234,254. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $353.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $151.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.10.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.