Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) “Overweight” Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

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

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $149.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $360.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $153.45 and a 200-day moving average of $154.93. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, 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 $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 16,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 50.9% in the third quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 5,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20.4% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 68,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,449,000 after acquiring an additional 11,643 shares in the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 210.0% during the third quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 9,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 33,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 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.