Daiwa America Upgrades Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to Strong-Buy

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was upgraded by Daiwa America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on JNJ. HSBC lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $213.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Argus set a $210.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $212.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $203.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.06.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $191.93 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $194.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $181.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.37. The stock has a market cap of $462.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.40.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.08% and a net margin of 27.26%.The firm had revenue of $24.02 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total value of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 made changes to their positions in the stock. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 7,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the third quarter. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.4% in the third quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 15,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,954,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Defined Financial Planning LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.0% in the third quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.