Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Outperform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $181.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.93% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.78.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $154.80. 2,717,045 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,953,258. The stock has a market cap of $373.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $159.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.10. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 8,207 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.