Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 28,628 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 384,637 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,628 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $62,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,357,000 after purchasing an additional 437,637 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $155.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $373.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $160.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.26. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

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.