West Paces Advisors Inc. Has $553,000 Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

West Paces Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,498 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mckinley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mckinley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 28,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,484,000 after buying an additional 1,755 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 8,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 19,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth about $23,848,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $146.82. The stock had a trading volume of 5,266,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,408,414. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The stock has a market cap of $353.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued 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.

Johnson & Johnson 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.