Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given New $167.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $168.00 to $167.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $176.21.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $144.77 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $156.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.74. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.39 and a 52-week high of $175.97. The company has a market cap of $348.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.68%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were 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 approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,607,414,000 after acquiring an additional 54,326,454 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $4,609,399,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 61.0% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.