Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price points to a potential upside of 35.11% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on JNJ. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. TD Securities decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.00.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $159.13. 790,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,290,341. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $148.88 and a 200-day moving average of $153.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $175.97. The firm has a market cap of $383.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 117.9% during the fourth quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 20,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,292,000 after acquiring an additional 11,076 shares in the last quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 11,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,832,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 17,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,709,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Sharkey Howes & Javer boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sharkey Howes & Javer now owns 1,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 9,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. 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.