Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Cut to $155.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $170.00 to $155.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on JNJ. Bank of America dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $146.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $352.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.05.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.