Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Guggenheim

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reissued by Guggenheim in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.33.

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Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $6.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $153.03. 16,594,687 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,796,002. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.91.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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.