Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 65,516 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.7% of Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $10,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth $765,000. Lavaca Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.8% in the first quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 16,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 30.1% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 100,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,919,000 after acquiring an additional 23,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth about $3,275,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.2 %

JNJ opened at $155.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $373.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $160.21 and its 200 day moving average is $156.26. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 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.