World Equity Group Inc. Sells 12,086 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

World Equity Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 48.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,786 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,086 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.6%

JNJ stock traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $149.81. 22,591,152 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,993,824. 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. The firm has a market cap of $360.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $154.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.68.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.