Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 1.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday after HSBC raised their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $265.00. HSBC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $231.19 and last traded at $230.82. Approximately 8,178,718 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 9,386,169 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.25.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $240.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Clark Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 51.6% during the second quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 8,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 632.0% during the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 89,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,536,000 after buying an additional 77,000 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 1,234,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,638,000 after acquiring an additional 94,957 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,926,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,484,000 after acquiring an additional 151,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.6% during the third quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 138,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,667,000 after acquiring an additional 6,143 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.24. The company has a market cap of $556.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46. The firm had revenue of $24.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.14 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.34% and a net margin of 28.46%.Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.430-11.630 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 47.06%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.