Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 35,411 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 15.5% during the 1st quarter, owning 192,777 shares, which are valued at approximately $31.97 million.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for Johnson & Johnson, with Bank of America raising its target from $161.00 to $175.00 and Guggenheim increasing it from $164.00 to $167.00.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $5.20 and offering a yield of 3.0% for shareholders.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC trimmed its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 192,777 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,411 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.7% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $31,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 233,962,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,800,371,000 after buying an additional 1,170,120 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,844,580,000 after buying an additional 4,842,582 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,899,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,133,602,000 after buying an additional 712,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,282,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,031,955,000 after buying an additional 448,666 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Leerink Partnrs cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $173.40. The company had a trading volume of 7,686,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,496,232. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $173.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $159.26 and its 200-day moving average is $157.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Johnson & Johnson's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.61%.

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.