Morgan Stanley Boosts Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target to $175.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $169.00 to $175.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $165.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $397.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,862 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489,925 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $331,178,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. 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.