Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target to $181.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its target price upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $178.00 to $181.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on JNJ. Daiwa America downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $165.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.71. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. 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 (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the second quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 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.