Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $181.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $162.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $390.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.90.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued 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 return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after buying an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $949,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.