Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) "Outperform" Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $181.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.49% from the company's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of 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, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of JNJ traded up $2.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $162.35. 12,540,171 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,073,381. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.90. 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 market capitalization of $390.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released 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 analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock worth $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company's stock worth $21,755,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,088 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $8,321,881,000 after buying an additional 1,561,036 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $4,390,037,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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.