Daiwa Capital Markets Lowers Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to Neutral

Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. Daiwa Capital Markets currently has $150.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $160.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Sunday, June 30th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $173.00.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $159.70 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.25. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The stock has a market cap of $384.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.