Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on JNJ. Leerink Partnrs lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $151.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,150,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,946,524. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The stock has a market cap of $364.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $155.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $290,000. Capital & Planning LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,393,460 shares of the company's stock worth $201,433,000 after acquiring an additional 69,338 shares during the period. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc now owns 7,316 shares of the company's stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 12,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.

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