Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Paragon Financial Partners Inc.

Paragon Financial Partners Inc. cut its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,187 shares of the company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.6% of Paragon Financial Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Paragon Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.6% during the first quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 67,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,327 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 88.9% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 175,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,049,000 after purchasing an additional 82,429 shares during the period. AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 45,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.4% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 860,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,488,000 after purchasing an additional 20,528 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $144.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $156.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.74. The company has a market cap of $348.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.39 and a 1 year high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 37.27% and a net margin of 37.79%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.47%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JNJ. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Bank of America decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.36.

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.