Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Johnson & Johnson's stock reached a new 52-week high after Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded its price target from $172 to $193, with the last trading price at $188.94.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.77, exceeding estimates, and announced a dividend of $1.30, representing a 2.8% dividend yield.
• Institutional investors continue to play a significant role, with 69.55% of the stock owned by hedge funds and various institutional investors, indicating strong market confidence in JNJ.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $172.00 to $193.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $189.92 and last traded at $188.94, with a volume of 707674 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $188.64.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $189.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at $31,652,491.53. This trade represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company's stock worth $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth about $218,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 8.6% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 564,807 shares of the company's stock worth $93,668,000 after acquiring an additional 44,614 shares during the period. Intergy Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth about $339,000. Finally, Joule Financial LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the first quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the company's stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.1%

The firm has a market cap of $454.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $176.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.83.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 55.61%.

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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