Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 3,805 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8%, holding a total of 138,368 shares worth approximately $22.95 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Johnson & Johnson recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.77 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues of $23.74 billion which is a 5.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which equates to a 2.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 55.61%.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 138,368 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,805 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 0.9% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $22,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elios Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the first quarter. Elios Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,496 shares of the company's stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. MBA Advisors LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company's stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,928 shares of the company's stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $167.00 price target (up previously from $164.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $178.36. 2,042,546 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,878,874. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $181.16. The company has a market cap of $429.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.22.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 25.00%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.