Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 228,188 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,091 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 0.6% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $33,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corepath Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $163.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $156.99 and a 200 day moving average of $156.33.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.