Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, September 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $167.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $401.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.98.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,454,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 5,680 shares during the period. Wade G W & Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wade G W & Inc. now owns 217,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Finally, Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $404,000. 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.