Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Cut to $170.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price objective cut by Bank of America from $180.00 to $170.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on JNJ. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $147.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $156.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.63. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 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 business 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 company earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’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 transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% in 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. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,458,962,000 after purchasing an additional 4,521,062 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,609,399,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% in 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. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.