Bank of America Cuts Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target to $159.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price objective decreased by Bank of America from $171.00 to $159.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.67.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $151.62 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $159.40 and its 200-day moving average is $155.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $365.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $1,339,878,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,196,596,000 after buying an additional 7,185,977 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,149,536,000 after buying an additional 4,559,147 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,456,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently 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.