559,800 Shares in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Purchased by Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd

Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 559,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,958,000. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 20.9% of Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2%

JNJ traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $153.25. The company had a trading volume of 6,979,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,961,247. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $155.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.65. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The company has a market capitalization of $368.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a PEG 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

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.