Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Overweight Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reissued their overweight rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $147.49 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $144.95 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $157.07 and its 200-day moving average is $155.90.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $21.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.02 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The business’s revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,607,414,000 after acquiring an additional 54,326,454 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $4,609,399,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,458,962,000 after purchasing an additional 4,521,062 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 61.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,287,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,868,351,000 after buying an additional 4,278,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 22,104,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,464,617,000 after buying an additional 4,021,883 shares in the last quarter. 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.