Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 38.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,118 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,760 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.6% of Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,755,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,088 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company's stock worth $9,064,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,763 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company's stock worth $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company's stock worth $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company's stock worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ traded up $2.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $162.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,540,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,073,381. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $148.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.89. The company has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.