Westpac Banking Corp Grows Position in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp increased its Johnson & Johnson stake by 36.2% in Q1, buying 11,510 more shares and bringing its total holding to 43,274 shares worth about $10.6 million.
• Johnson & Johnson posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.90 and revenue of $25.31 billion, and it reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of $11.60 to $11.75.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.34 per share, while a recent FDA authorization for its OTTAVA robotic surgery system could support future medtech growth.

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 36.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,274 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,510 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.7% of Westpac Banking Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $10,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22,225.6% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 69,419,308 shares of the company's stock worth $1,436,633,000 after acquiring an additional 69,108,368 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $6,924,523,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $2,005,942,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 24,436.5% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,473,008 shares of the company's stock worth $109,338,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,740,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,074 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $255.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $241.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.76. The company has a market cap of $615.56 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.24. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $164.23 and a 1-year high of $269.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.06. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.86% and a net margin of 21.48%.The firm had revenue of $25.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 62.11%.

Johnson & Johnson News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Johnson & Johnson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved J&J’s OTTAVA robotic surgery system, opening the door for Johnson & Johnson to compete in robotic soft-tissue surgery and potentially expand its medtech growth runway. Reuters article on OTTAVA approval
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by the prospect of a phased launch of OTTAVA with select customers, suggesting J&J is preparing a commercial rollout after securing clearance. Medical Device Network article on OTTAVA launch plans
• Positive Sentiment: J&J also continues to look like a defensive income stock, with a newly declared quarterly dividend reinforcing its appeal to dividend-focused investors. Yahoo Finance dividend article
• Neutral Sentiment: A federal judge cast doubt on roughly 69,000 talc-related cancer claims, but the court did not dismiss the litigation outright, so the legal overhang remains a mixed but potentially improving risk for J&J. Reuters talc litigation article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Johnson Rice raised Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $285.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $254.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, HSBC set a $290.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $265.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total value of $2,411,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company's pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.