Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.71.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $142.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $150.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.04. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $141.44 and a one year high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $342.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after acquiring an additional 7,110 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,996,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $69,859,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.