West Paces Advisors Inc. Has $1.38 Million Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 101.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,312 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of JNJ traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $156.45. 6,791,151 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,934,952. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $153.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.67. The stock has a market cap of $376.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. 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 assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.