Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Earns Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 target price on the stock.

JNJ has been the topic of several other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Johnson & Johnson from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $160.50 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. 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 stock has a market cap of $386.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.30.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS 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 return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Insider Transactions 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 value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% in the 4th quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 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.