Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Increased to $166.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $163.00 to $166.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target 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. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $164.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $162.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth about $46,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 217.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. 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.