Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) “Overweight” Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reissued their overweight rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $176.36.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $144.77 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $156.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.39 and a 12-month high of $175.97. The company has a market cap of $348.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.47%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,758,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,458,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.6% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.