Employees Retirement System of Texas Decreases Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Employees Retirement System of Texas decreased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,638 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,143 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of JNJ traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $153.44. The stock had a trading volume of 6,803,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,948,503. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.64. 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 (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

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.