Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 2.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) shot up 2.7% during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $164.00 to $169.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $157.68 and last traded at $158.11. 2,942,555 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 7,936,092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.91.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.72.

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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock worth $562,723,000 after acquiring an additional 329,473 shares during the period. Invst LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company's stock worth $1,668,000 after buying an additional 8,207 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company's stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,180,000 after acquiring an additional 4,640 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 2.3 %

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 has a 50-day moving average price of $159.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.03. The stock has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

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.