Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $173.21.

JNJ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Daiwa America cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $161.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $388.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $167.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.15.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,685,000 after acquiring an additional 15,490 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,664,620,000 after purchasing an additional 498,647 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.