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

Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,698 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,882 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $22,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 425,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,985,000 after buying an additional 52,997 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth $209,000. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $213,000. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,980,000 after acquiring an additional 111,570 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $162.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $148.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

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.