Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $146.42 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The company has a market capitalization of $352.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $331,178,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,647,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064,175 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.