Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 1.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Johnson & Johnson's stock rose **1.2%** after Guggenheim upgraded its rating from **neutral to buy**, setting a new price target of **$206.00**.
• Multiple analysts, including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, have also boosted their price targets for Johnson & Johnson, reflecting a generally positive outlook with most ratings being **buy** or **strong buy**.
• In the latest quarter, Johnson & Johnson reported earnings of **$2.77** per share, beating expectations, with a **net margin of 25%** and a revenue increase of **5.8%** year-over-year.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) was up 1.2% on Tuesday after Guggenheim upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Guggenheim now has a $206.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $167.00. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $176.97 and last traded at $176.35. Approximately 8,172,761 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 8,944,091 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.21.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.40.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,877,174,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth approximately $1,369,188,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 15,040.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,420,699 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,512,000 after buying an additional 7,371,687 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock worth $1,196,596,000 after purchasing an additional 7,185,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock worth $3,844,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,842,582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.2%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $173.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.69. The company has a market cap of $424.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.40. 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 (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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