Bank of America Lowers Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target to $160.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Bank of America from $166.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.61% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on JNJ. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy 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 $174.29.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $147.31. 4,449,899 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,001,819. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $354.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after buying an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after acquiring an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $69,859,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.