Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms “Overweight” Rating for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $215.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on JNJ. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Daiwa America cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $164.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $395.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.81 and a 200-day moving average of $154.59. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after buying an additional 1,829,257 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,357,000 after buying an additional 437,637 shares in the last quarter. 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.