Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by Royal Bank of Canada in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $181.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 13.40% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on JNJ. Raymond James decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $159.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $148.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.89. 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 firm has a market cap of $384.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.