Equity Investment Corp Has $14.04 Million Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Equity Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,613 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $14,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after acquiring an additional 754,200 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829,257 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,357,000 after acquiring an additional 437,637 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $154.00 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $370.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.13.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 71.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa America cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.