E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,376 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,181 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $166.81 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $401.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $152.95 and its 200 day moving average is $156.30.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson 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.