Paragon Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Paragon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,869 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 2.9% of Paragon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 30th. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Daiwa America cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.00.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $3.93 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $156.28. 6,862,118 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,321,671. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $148.44 and its 200 day moving average is $153.18. The stock has a market cap of $376.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.79%. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.