Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,738 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,781 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises 2.2% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1,044.4% in the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, 25 LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth approximately $55,000. 68.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.80.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $164.31 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $150.11 and a 1 year high of $181.04.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $25.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.63 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 36.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 25th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 96.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, insider William Hait sold 14,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $2,528,056.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 87,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,484. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Peter Fasolo sold 20,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.32, for a total transaction of $3,406,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 102,696 shares in the company, valued at $17,491,182.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider William Hait sold 14,698 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $2,528,056.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 87,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,163 shares of company stock valued at $7,928,856. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Consumer Health segment provides skin health/beauty products under the AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, DR. CI:LABO, NEUTROGENA, and OGX brands; baby care products under the JOHNSON'S and AVEENO Baby brands; oral care products under the LISTERINE brand; TYLENOL acetaminophen products; SUDAFED cold, flu, and allergy products; BENADRYL and ZYRTEC allergy products; MOTRIN IB ibuprofen products; NICORETTE smoking cessation products; and PEPCID acid reflux products.