Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Johnson & Johnson a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 27 analysts (17 buy, 9 hold, 1 strong buy) with an average 1-year price target of $236.91, and several firms recently raised targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley $253, TD Cowen $250, Barclays $234).
• Insider selling has been notable: two EVPs sold 6,197 and 22,623 shares in February (at ≈$243–$244), insiders disposed of 30,142 shares (~$7.36M) in the last 90 days, and company insiders now own 0.16% of the stock.
• Valuation and recent results: JNJ opened at $240.87 with a market cap of $580.15B and a P/E of 21.8; the company reported $2.46 EPS on $24.28B revenue for the quarter and analysts forecast about 10.58 EPS for the year.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $236.9130.

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $217.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $253.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,598,700.17. This represents a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.33, for a total transaction of $5,527,477.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,540,469.77. This represents a 45.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blueline Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $26,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 147 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.9%

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $240.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $580.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $141.50 and a fifty-two week high of $251.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $240.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.73.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $24.28 billion during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.04%. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company's pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.

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