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 report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $215.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on JNJ. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Sunday. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $145.62 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $350.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.52. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $148.02 and its 200-day moving average is $153.91.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391,657 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,945,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,483,532,000 after purchasing an additional 241,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,664,620,000 after purchasing an additional 498,647 shares during the period. 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.