Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Has $1.95 Million Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,466 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 1.2% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.1 %

JNJ opened at $165.48 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $398.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $151.73 and its 200 day moving average is $156.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 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, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.