Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Johnson & Johnson's stock increased by 1.4% after Bank of America raised its price target from $175.00 to $198.00. The company currently holds a neutral rating from Bank of America.
• Multiple analysts have raised their target prices for Johnson & Johnson, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $187.47.
• Johnson & Johnson recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 2.8% for shareholders.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 1.4% during trading on Friday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $198.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $189.78 and last traded at $188.51. Approximately 8,661,551 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 8,954,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.98.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. 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 report on Friday, September 19th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $167.00 to $206.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.47.

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 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,652,491.53. This represents a 24.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,246 shares of the company's stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 72.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,832 shares of the company's stock worth $6,644,000 after buying an additional 15,006 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 7,181 shares of the company's stock worth $1,332,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $254,000. Finally, Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $453.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.66.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The business had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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