Westpac Banking Corp Purchases 3,091 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7.2%, owning a total of 45,955 shares valued at approximately $7.62 million as of its latest filing.
• Analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with nine analysts rating it as a hold and two assigning a strong buy rating, establishing an average target price of $174.50.
• Johnson & Johnson declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which translates to an annual dividend yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 55.61%.

Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,955 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,091 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elios Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the first quarter. Elios Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.4% in the first quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% in the first quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company's stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,928 shares of the company's stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the first quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $174.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,236,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,039,363. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $175.72. The company's 50-day moving average is $160.42 and its 200-day moving average is $158.01. 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 firm has a market cap of $421.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.41.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 25.00%. The business had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners cut Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.50.

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.