Morgan Stanley Cuts Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target to $163.00

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $163.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

JNJ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.9 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $146.58 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $352.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $148.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 42,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,280,000 after purchasing an additional 2,488 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,350,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,176,000 after purchasing an additional 932,477 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares during the period. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $612,000. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 304,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,462,000 after buying an additional 6,033 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by 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.