Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 0.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $159.00 to $166.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $151.86 and last traded at $151.45. 1,567,021 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 9,421,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.38.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.44.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 33,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,911,000 after buying an additional 2,171 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 248,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,903,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $364.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.76 and its 200-day moving average is $156.13.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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

About Johnson & Johnson

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.