Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $175.86.

JNJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $148.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $357.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $153.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.00. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $1.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391,657 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,647,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064,175 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $193,050,000. Finally, Focused Investors Fund L P acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth $193,996,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently 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.