Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Receives Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $181.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.9%

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $1.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $155.02. The company had a trading volume of 5,387,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,927,044. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $372.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $153.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.67.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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.