Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Lowered to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday, July 21st.

According to Zacks, “J&J reported mixed Q2 results, beating on earnings but missing on sales. Sales in J&J’s domestic Pharma segment have decelerated this year as a number of key growth drivers like Remicade and Concerta are facing competition. However, J&J is optimistic that sales growth will accelerate in 2H17. We believe that new products including Xarelto, Stelara, Darzalex, and Imbruvica remain the key to growth. Meanwhile, share buybacks and the restructuring initiative should provide bottom-line support. J&J is also making rapid progress with its pipeline and line extensions. The Actelion buy adds an attractive new therapeutic area – PAH. J&J’s shares have outperformed the large-cap pharma industry this year so far. However, headwinds like negative currency movement, generics, pricing pressure and soft global market conditions remain. Sluggish growth in the Consumer segment due to category slowdown is also a concern.”

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on JNJ. Barclays PLC restated an equal weight rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, April 17th. BTIG Research restated a hold rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Vetr upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $128.54 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Jefferies Group LLC reiterated a hold rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Sunday, May 14th. Finally, J P Morgan Chase & Co upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the company from $123.64 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $133.72.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) opened at 132.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 0.78. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $109.32 and a 1-year high of $137.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $133.33 and a 200-day moving average of $125.48.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $18.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.94 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 26.83%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post $7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 29th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 56.76%.

In related news, VP Dominic J. Caruso sold 82,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.72, for a total value of $11,291,841.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 226,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,993,466.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paulus Stoffels sold 102,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.14, for a total value of $13,672,412.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 230,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,667,733.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Lenox Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the first quarter. Lenox Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Empirical Finance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 241.0% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shine Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at approximately $177,000. 66.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field. It operates through three segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices. Its primary focus is products related to human health and well-being.

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