Daiwa America Lowers Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to Hold

Daiwa America downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

JNJ has been the subject of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Sunday, June 30th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $173.00.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $159.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $148.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The company has a market cap of $384.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.79% and a net margin of 46.34%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,737,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Engrave Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Engrave Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,696,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 3,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 103,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,244,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 16,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.