Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Raised to $166.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its target price boosted by Guggenheim from $162.00 to $166.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on JNJ. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $151.82 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $147.61 and a 200-day moving average of $156.12. The company has a market capitalization of $365.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 425,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,985,000 after buying an additional 52,997 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 490,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,471,000 after acquiring an additional 31,766 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,822,000 after acquiring an additional 10,332 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.