Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $161.35 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion for 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 36.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised 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 valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $331,178,000. 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.