Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is West Branch Capital LLC’s 10th Largest Position

West Branch Capital LLC cut its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) by 2.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 563 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.9% of West Branch Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 3,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 16,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,871,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. LifePro Asset Management increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Adviser Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Adviser Investments LLC now owns 75,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,736,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,070,000 after purchasing an additional 23,765 shares in the last quarter. 68.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $172.92 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $155.72 and a twelve month high of $186.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $175.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $455.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 19th. The company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.02. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.56% and a net margin of 19.21%. The company had revenue of $24.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 22nd. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.79%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total transaction of $6,920,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,336,803. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total transaction of $6,920,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,336,803. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert J. Decker sold 8,462 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $1,523,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,785,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Credit Suisse Group lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $205.00 to $201.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. SVB Leerink cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $200.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.89.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches and develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Consumer Health segment offers baby care products under the JOHNSON'S and AVEENO Baby brands; oral care products under the LISTERINE brand; skin health/beauty products under the AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, DR.