Analysts Set Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) PT at $177.31

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $175.86.

Several equities analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $145.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $156.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.68. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The firm has a market cap of $351.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its 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 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.