Cantor Fitzgerald Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $215.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $164.82 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $396.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $161.02 and its 200-day moving average is $154.17.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after buying an additional 3,391,657 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by 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.