Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $173.43.

A number of research firms have commented on JNJ. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $160.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.41. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $386.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued 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 net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.98%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% during the 4th quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.