Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Raised to $162.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its target price upped by Guggenheim from $156.00 to $162.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on JNJ. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.00.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $155.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $162.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued 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%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $331,178,000. Hedge funds and other 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.