Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Upgraded at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. HSBC currently has $170.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $169.00.

JNJ has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $145.74 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year 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 company has a market capitalization of $351.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $156.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.68.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The company 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 posted $2.68 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 29.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 22.0% in the first quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 45,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,251,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the first quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 5,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.6% in the first quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 34,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.