Morgan Stanley Raises Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target to $175.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $169.00 to $175.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on JNJ. TD Cowen cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Daiwa America cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.4 %

JNJ stock opened at $165.13 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $397.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $162.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.71.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,464,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NTV Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,695,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.