Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $181.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $146.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $352.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.05. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

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

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.