Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given New $164.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $163.00 to $164.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE JNJ traded up $2.93 on Wednesday, hitting $151.62. 9,940,249 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,949,833. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $365.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average price is $159.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.21.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock worth $33,666,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,321,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock worth $4,456,201,000 after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company's stock worth $3,522,447,000 after acquiring an additional 431,205 shares during the last quarter. 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.