Royal Bank Of Canada Boosts Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target to $185.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) had its target price upped by Royal Bank Of Canada from $181.00 to $185.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on JNJ. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.11.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Thursday, hitting $163.65. 9,764,459 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,146,244. The stock's fifty day moving average is $154.10 and its 200 day moving average is $154.84. The stock has a market cap of $393.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.26. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 33.07%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 55.61%.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 86 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.