Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Raised to $178.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $175.00 to $178.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on JNJ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.43.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $160.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $386.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.36. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% during the 4th quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 217.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.