Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Raised to $171.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $169.00 to $171.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.00.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $156.87. 7,866,488 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,060,142. The stock has a market capitalization of $377.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.73 and a 200 day moving average of $154.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 24.42% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 11,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $453,000. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 74,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,294,000 after buying an additional 2,526 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 205,580.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,487,000 after buying an additional 10,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,635,000 after buying an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.