Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Lowered to $155.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $170.00 to $155.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target points to a potential upside of 5.62% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.72.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.0 %

JNJ traded up $1.49 on Thursday, hitting $146.76. 1,821,748 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,839,811. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.