Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) PT Lowered to $167.00 at Morgan Stanley

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $168.00 to $167.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.36% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on JNJ. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given 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 price target of $176.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $144.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.39 and a one year high of $175.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.74.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s 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 owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction 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 the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, 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 and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,607,414,000 after acquiring an additional 54,326,454 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $4,609,399,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,458,962,000 after buying an additional 4,521,062 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,287,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,868,351,000 after buying an additional 4,278,512 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 22,104,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,464,617,000 after buying an additional 4,021,883 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.