Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 297,850 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,490 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $46,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 216.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 380 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $149.56 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.