Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Raised to $169.00 at Morgan Stanley

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $164.00 to $169.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.72.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $3.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.42. 10,972,370 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,953,112. 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 company has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $159.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.03.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,339,878,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock worth $1,196,596,000 after buying an additional 7,185,977 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,149,536,000 after buying an additional 4,559,147 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,235 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by 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.