Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Guggenheim Analyst Says

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price objective boosted by Guggenheim from $162.00 to $166.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on JNJ. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $154.68 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $372.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. State Street Corp increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,755,874,000 after buying an additional 1,154,088 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,064,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,763 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,748 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.