Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 1.4% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Johnson & Johnson shares rose 1.4% after Guggenheim lifted its price target on the stock from $266 to $270 and reiterated a buy rating.
• Other analysts have also been constructive on JNJ, with several firms raising targets in recent reports. The stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and a consensus price target of $256.70.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.34 per share from $1.30.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.4% during trading on Monday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $266.00 to $270.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $258.58 and last traded at $258.2420. Approximately 8,404,787 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 8,504,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.66.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.70.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total transaction of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at $27,560,551.20. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Greenberg Financial Group acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $954,000. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 161,343 shares of the company's stock worth $33,390,000 after acquiring an additional 26,450 shares during the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 59,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,047,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 9.8% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 95,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,738,000 after buying an additional 8,533 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,594,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $851,941,000 after purchasing an additional 377,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.62. The stock has a market cap of $621.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.02. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The firm had revenue of $24.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 61.97%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.