Paragon Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Paragon Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,189 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,335 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 2.4% of Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $162.93 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on JNJ. Barclays upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.