Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $181.00 price target on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $162.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $148.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.90. The firm has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 425,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,985,000 after buying an additional 52,997 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,980,000 after purchasing an additional 111,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,773 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.