Brokerages Set Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target at $175.93

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $175.93.

Several research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.2 %

JNJ stock opened at $158.24 on Tuesday. 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 has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $163.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.3% during the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 97,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.0% during the first quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 439,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,528,000 after purchasing an additional 4,377 shares in the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% during the first quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.8% during the first quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 7,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.3% during the first quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 34,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,402,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.