Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 165,521 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its investment in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8%, acquiring an additional 165,521 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately $431 million.
• Johnson & Johnson announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.0%, set to be paid on September 9th.
• Analysts have raised price targets on Johnson & Johnson's stock, with the average target now at $174.50, and the stock holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,603,974 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 165,521 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.6% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of Johnson & Johnson worth $431,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth about $1,369,188,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock worth $1,196,596,000 after buying an additional 7,185,977 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock worth $3,844,580,000 after buying an additional 4,842,582 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock worth $1,149,536,000 after buying an additional 4,559,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised 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 worth $4,456,201,000 after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE JNJ opened at $173.98 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $159.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $418.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $174.60.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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