Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $174.07.

A number of analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,945,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,483,532,000 after acquiring an additional 241,799 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,664,620,000 after acquiring an additional 498,647 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.3 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $146.03 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $148.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.97. The company has a market capitalization of $351.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

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.