Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 35,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,140,000. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 0.7% of Mufg Securities Americas Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $148.71 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $157.33 and a 200 day moving average of $154.14. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $357.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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