Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.

Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. trimmed its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,251 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 0.8% of Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Certified Advisory Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 19,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 6,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 3,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 268,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,088,000 after acquiring an additional 54,639 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 51,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ traded down $1.27 on Thursday, reaching $152.23. The company had a trading volume of 830,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,287,731. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $175.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $366.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

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.