Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Lowered to $152.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $166.00 to $152.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

JNJ has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $146.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $353.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. 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 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $559,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares in 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 worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position 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 worth $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.