Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $175.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 6.60% from the stock’s current price.

JNJ has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $164.16 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.30 and a 200 day moving average of $154.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $395.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’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 value 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 available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the first quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,464,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% during the first quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the period. 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.