Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Now Covered by Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on JNJ. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.4 %

JNJ traded up $2.13 on Friday, hitting $154.00. The company had a trading volume of 11,328,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,017,128. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.02. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $370.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $765,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 101,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,015,000 after buying an additional 32,244 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Family Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 180.0% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Family Trust now owns 6,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 137,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,821,000 after buying an additional 1,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 161,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,490,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.