Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Cut to $159.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Bank of America from $171.00 to $159.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.50.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $1.43 on Thursday, hitting $153.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,724,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,941,177. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock's 50 day moving average is $159.40 and its 200-day moving average is $155.17. The company has a market capitalization of $369.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,339,878,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,196,596,000 after purchasing an additional 7,185,977 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,149,536,000 after buying an additional 4,559,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock worth $4,456,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. 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.