IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Cuts Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,931 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,923 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.6% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $13,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. LM Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. LM Advisors LLC now owns 12,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 4,311 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,635,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 133,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,377,000 after purchasing an additional 32,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $1,384,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $161.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.18.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.