Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV Raises Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,555 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 1.4% of Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $5,140,000. Nia Impact Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 179.3% in the fourth quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 304,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,004,000 after purchasing an additional 195,313 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 160.2% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 41,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 25,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 38,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,615,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Leerink Partners cut Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of JNJ opened at $148.71 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. 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 company has a market capitalization of $357.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $157.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.14.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.