Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Increased to $175.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $169.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $165.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $162.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.69. The stock has a market cap of $397.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 217.1% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other 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.