Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $210.25.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $174.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Daiwa America raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $213.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $207.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $215.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $199.67 and a 200 day moving average of $181.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $24.02 billion for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 32.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 50.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,047,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,209,060,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,609,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,227,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,676 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,877,174,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,832,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,789,914,000 after buying an additional 956,239 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,637,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,568,313,000 after acquiring an additional 835,146 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.