Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price traded up 1.3% on Monday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $204.00 to $220.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $215.19 and last traded at $214.4110. 8,424,441 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 8,893,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $211.58.

Several other research firms have also commented on JNJ. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital set a $190.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $174.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.35.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clark Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 51.6% during the second quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 8,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 1,234,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,638,000 after acquiring an additional 94,957 shares during the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 23,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 234,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth approximately $295,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $516.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 32.73%. The business had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.19%.

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.