Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Neutral Rating at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reissued their neutral rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

JNJ has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $155.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $374.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $159.36 and its 200-day moving average is $155.98.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.