Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Raised to "Buy" at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. HSBC currently has $170.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $169.00.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on JNJ. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Bank of America lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $145.74. 9,867,856 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,254,172. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $156.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.