Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $215.00 target price on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.8 %

JNJ opened at $167.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $167.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.60.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after buying an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489,925 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.