Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Raymond James dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $146.76 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $353.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.