Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $19.81 Million Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,526 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,408 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 0.8% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $19,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at about $1,626,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,428,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the first quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,464,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% in the first quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. TD Securities cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $167.07 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.01. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $402.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

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.