Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Now Covered by Analysts at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $154.77 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $372.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $765,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 46.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 101,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,015,000 after purchasing an additional 32,244 shares during the period. Alpha Family Trust lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 180.0% in the first quarter. Alpha Family Trust now owns 6,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 137,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,821,000 after buying an additional 1,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 161,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,490,000 after buying an additional 4,330 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is 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.