Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and four have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $202.10.

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Argus set a $210.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $205.38 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $207.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $192.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $494.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 32.73%. The company had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 50.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. This represents a 24.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 11,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 7,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Intrepid Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,371,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 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.