Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,470 shares of the company’s stock after selling 407 shares during the quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,980,000 after buying an additional 111,570 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,723,000 after acquiring an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $365,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,957,000 after purchasing an additional 10,439 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $156.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.25.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. Analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on JNJ. Raymond James cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.