Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $233.7273.

Several research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. HSBC upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $262.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the period. United Bank increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 110.7% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 9,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after buying an additional 4,876 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sendero Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% in the second quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Johnson & Johnson News

Here are the key news stories impacting Johnson & Johnson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer publicly praised J&J on-air, calling the company “amazing,” which can boost retail investor interest and provide short-term support for the stock. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Is Amazing, Says Jim Cramer
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street Zen cut JNJ to a Hold, signaling reduced upside conviction from at least one boutique research provider; that can temper buying enthusiasm but is not a major institutional downgrade. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen
• Negative Sentiment: A Pennsylvania jury found J&J liable in a talc/ovarian-cancer case and ordered $250,000 in damages to the family of Gayle Emerson — a reminder that ongoing talc litigation continues to create legal costs, uncertainty and headline risk for the company. Jury: Johnson & Johnson Liable in Case Linking Baby Powder to Cancer

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $243.37 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $141.50 and a 12-month high of $246.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $586.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The company had revenue of $24.28 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.