Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to “Buy” Rating

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was upgraded by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $172.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $157.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.25% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.28.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $149.24 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $359.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,321,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,036 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,522,447,000 after buying an additional 431,205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.