Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $241.00 and last traded at $240.7250, with a volume of 2577293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $238.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley set a $262.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.73.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.19. The company has a market capitalization of $580.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $24.28 billion for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.34% and a net margin of 28.46%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the period. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 110.7% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sendero Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.