Hikari Tsushin Inc. Has $21.39 Million Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Hikari Tsushin Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 136,468 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,665 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 2.0% of Hikari Tsushin Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Hikari Tsushin Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $21,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 166,813 shares of the company's stock worth $25,981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,578 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the third quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 6,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 92,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 19,014 shares of the company's stock worth $2,961,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Westhampton Capital LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,117,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $154.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,589,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,387,138. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $371.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.62, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.