Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Coverage Initiated at Wolfe Research

Analysts at Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 25.12% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $151.86 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $161.82 and a 200-day moving average of $155.99. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 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. The company has a market cap of $365.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 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 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,265,748 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.