Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was up 0.2% during trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $185.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $165.00 and last traded at $164.54. Approximately 1,124,651 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 7,016,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.28.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’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 transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 25,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,202,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 86.4% in the third quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840 shares in the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.9% in the third quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.9% in the third quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC now owns 31,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,094,000 after acquiring an additional 3,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the third quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $397.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.