Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $181.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.40% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $159.62 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $148.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.89.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.