Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Receives $177.31 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $177.31.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $144.45 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.39 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $156.80 and its 200 day moving average is $155.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $348.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 37.27% and a net margin of 37.79%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 34.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,607,414,000 after buying an additional 54,326,454 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $4,609,399,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,458,962,000 after purchasing an additional 4,521,062 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,287,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,868,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,278,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 22,104,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,464,617,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021,883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.