Avanza Fonder AB Sells 30,668 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Avanza Fonder AB reduced its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,081 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,668 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.2% of Avanza Fonder AB's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $35,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $156.61. The company had a trading volume of 7,065,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,948,711. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $153.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.71. The company has a market capitalization of $376.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

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.