Merrion Investment Management Co LLC Sells 2,000 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC lowered its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 17.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.0% of Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $1,369,188,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1,382.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,030,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825,626 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 159.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,159,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $635,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557,388 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth approximately $401,420,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 14.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,903,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,803,042,000 after buying an additional 2,129,612 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $186.50 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $194.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $184.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $449.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.38.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.73% and a net margin of 27.26%. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $167.00 to $206.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $213.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.05.

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.