Leerink Partners Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target trimmed by Leerink Partners from $182.00 to $169.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on JNJ. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.9 %

JNJ opened at $146.58 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $148.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.05. The firm has a market cap of $352.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 71.78%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.