Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Sells 1,551 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lessened its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 306,720 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,551 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $44,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,706 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,321,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,456,201,000 after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,522,447,000 after buying an additional 431,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other 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 directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $148.71 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.14. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 57.84%.

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.