Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

JNJ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Johnson & Johnson from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Daiwa America cut Johnson & Johnson from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $167.07 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $160.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,454,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 5,680 shares in the last quarter. Wade G W & Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wade G W & Inc. now owns 217,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,017,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $404,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.