Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Johnson & Johnson has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 22 brokerages, with a price target averaging $192.94.
• Recent analyst upgrades include JPMorgan raising their target to $200, Royal Bank of Canada to $209, and Citigroup to $213, all suggesting strong future performance.
• Insider transactions reveal EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold over 56,000 shares, reducing her stake by 24.08%, while institutional investors now own nearly 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $192.9412.

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $200.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $176.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,652,491.53. This represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth about $47,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $190.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $459.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $178.88 and a 200 day moving average of $163.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 55.61%.

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.

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