Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Upgraded to “Buy” at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $170.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $169.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $145.74 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $351.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. Analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,758,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 4,457 shares during the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $1,458,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.6% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102 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, 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.