Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires 339,887 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its ownership in Johnson & Johnson by 65.4%, acquiring an additional 339,887 shares in the first quarter, bringing their total to 859,640 shares.
• Johnson & Johnson recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.20 with a 3.0% yield.
• The company's latest earnings report showed $23.74 billion in revenue, exceeding analysts' expectations, while the net margin was reported at 25.00%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 65.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 859,640 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 339,887 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 1.1% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $142,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the first quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 11,974 shares of the company's stock worth $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $453,000. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 74,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,294,000 after buying an additional 2,526 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 205,580.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,284 shares of the company's stock worth $1,487,000 after buying an additional 10,279 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 18.9% in the first quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $171.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $412.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.41. The company's 50-day moving average is $157.82 and its 200 day moving average is $156.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $171.19.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $167.00 target price (up from $164.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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