Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given "Outperform" Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $181.00 price objective on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on 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 reduced their price objective 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.33.

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Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ traded up $4.54 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $159.90. The stock had a trading volume of 13,243,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,757,538. The firm has a market capitalization of $385.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The company's 50-day moving average price is $159.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.01.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.