Bank of America Cuts Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target to $170.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target cut by Bank of America from $180.00 to $170.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $147.93 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.63. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $356.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 4J Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. My Personal CFO LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookmont Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 14,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.