Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Scotiabank

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Scotiabank to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on JNJ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $213.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Argus set a $210.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $203.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.52.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $196.00. 8,824,040 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,815,848. The firm has a market cap of $472.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.38. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $197.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $185.46 and a 200 day moving average of $169.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 32.73%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total value of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at $35,000. 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.