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

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Raymond James decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $146.76 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $147.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22,438,500 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $223,000. Peloton Wealth Strategists boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the second quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 16,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 26.3% in the second quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 5,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 4,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 14,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,141,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.