Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Trimmed by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,650 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company's stock worth $1,534,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company's stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock traded up $2.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $166.13. The company had a trading volume of 12,301,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,194,551. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $399.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $149.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.88.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.