Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Securities reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Johnson & Johnson from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $166.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $160.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.09.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after buying an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after buying an additional 754,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.