Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,035,669 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 339,888 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.17% of Johnson & Johnson worth $581,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after buying an additional 7,110 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after acquiring an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.4 %

JNJ stock opened at $161.64 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.18. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $389.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

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.