Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $171.33.

Several research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $166.81 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $152.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price 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. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $490,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $174,000. TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $313,000. Copley Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.