Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $181.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.12% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $154.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,952,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,705,863. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $159.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.99. The company has a market capitalization of $372.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.