Brokerages Set Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target at $192.94

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $200.0556.

A number of analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Guggenheim upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $167.00 to $206.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 17th.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3%

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $193.78 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $180.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $466.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.40. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $194.48.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.08% and a net margin of 27.26%. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. This represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth $4,877,174,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth $1,369,188,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 15,040.6% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,420,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,512,000 after acquiring an additional 7,371,687 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,844,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,842,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,047,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,209,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085,180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.