Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $175.00 price objective on the stock.

JNJ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $2.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.52. 6,608,309 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,354,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $369.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.12.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,685,000 after acquiring an additional 15,490 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 4,457 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% in the first quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 19,587 shares of the company's stock worth $3,070,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.