Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 25,183 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 536,067 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,183 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 0.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $88,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock worth $8,321,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,036 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company's stock worth $3,522,447,000 after acquiring an additional 431,205 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $155.90. 3,482,521 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,047,072. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $153.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $375.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 24.42% and a return on equity of 33.46%. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 57.84%.

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.