Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 0.7% on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $159.00 to $166.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $151.86 and last traded at $151.45. 1,567,021 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 9,421,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.38.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,988,000 after buying an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company's stock worth $29,996,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company's stock worth $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth about $69,859,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.1 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $147.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.10. The company has a market capitalization of $367.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 74.59%.

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.