Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $30.28 Million Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 171,388 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,376 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 1.6% of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $30,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aviva PLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 984,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,007,000 after purchasing an additional 162,472 shares during the period. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $509,000. Associated Banc Corp increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 180,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Watershed Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. Finally, Argent Trust Co increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 165,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $164.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.00.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $154.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $150.11 and a 12 month high of $183.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.86. The stock has a market cap of $401.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 18th. The company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.17. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 36.13%. The firm had revenue of $24.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 23rd will be paid a $1.19 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 22nd. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 99.58%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, insider James D. Swanson sold 1,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.66, for a total value of $164,248.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,191.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

(Get Rating)

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of products in the health care field. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Health, Pharmaceutical, and MedTech. The Consumer Health segment includes products focused on personal healthcare used in the Skin Health/Beauty, Over-the-Counter medicines, Baby Care, Oral Care, Women’s Health and Wound Care markets.