Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 2,727 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 157,027 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,727 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 1.3% of Trust Co. of Vermont's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $26,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock worth $33,666,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,706 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock worth $8,321,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,036 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock worth $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,522,447,000 after buying an additional 431,205 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.6%

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $2.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $155.16. The stock had a trading volume of 4,411,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,009,120. The stock has a market capitalization of $373.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $153.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.26. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 24.42% and a return on equity of 33.46%. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Leerink Partners lowered Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

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.