Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price objective reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $170.00 to $155.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

JNJ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $146.76 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $147.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $353.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.1% during the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 42,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,280,000 after buying an additional 2,488 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 38.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,350,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,176,000 after buying an additional 932,477 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after buying an additional 754,200 shares during the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $612,000. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 304,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,033 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.