Merrion Investment Management Co LLC Sells 250 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.5% of Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,175 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $193,050,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter valued at about $170,372,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $146.16 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.05. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $351.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.07.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.