StockNews.com Upgrades Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to “Strong-Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $152.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $368.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.10.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22,438,500 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth approximately $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.