Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Downgraded by Daiwa America to “Hold”

Daiwa America cut shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

JNJ has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Sunday, June 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Johnson & Johnson from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $173.00.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $160.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $386.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.24. 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 has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.79% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.