Analysts Set Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target at $170.88

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $170.88.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm'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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Acorns Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter valued at $263,000. Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 324.5% in the 1st quarter. Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,486 shares of the company's stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 411.7% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,962 shares of the company's stock worth $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 12,038 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 32,189 shares of the company's stock worth $5,338,000 after purchasing an additional 8,477 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 15.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,193,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,910,000 after acquiring an additional 159,419 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $153.58. 7,344,994 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,966,598. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.84%.

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.