Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday, July 27th. The brokerage currently has $148.00 price objective on the stock.
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. Though headwinds like negative currency movement, generics, pricing pressure and soft global market conditions remain, we believe that new products including Xarelto, Stelara, Darzalex, and Imbruvica remain the key to J&J’s 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 industry this year so far. However, sluggish growth in the Consumer segment due to category slowdown is a concern.”
Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS AG reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Vetr raised Johnson & Johnson from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $132.33 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a hold rating and set a $128.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, May 18th. BidaskClub upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Saturday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a market perform rating and set a $135.00 price target (up previously from $132.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. 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 stock. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $133.72.
Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) opened at 132.86 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $133.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48 and a beta of 0.78. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $109.32 and a one year high of $137.08.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.04. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 26.76% and a net margin of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $18.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post $7.18 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 29th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 25th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.76%.
In related news, VP Paulus Stoffels sold 102,692 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.14, for a total value of $13,672,412.88. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 230,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,667,733.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Dominic J. Caruso sold 82,591 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.72, for a total transaction of $11,291,841.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 226,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,993,466.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Lau Associates LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% in the first quarter. Lau Associates LLC now owns 46,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,839,000 after buying an additional 5,335 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 396.7% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 110,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,768,000 after buying an additional 88,510 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 14,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,627,000 after buying an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.6% in the first quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 47,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,895,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,035,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.06% of the company’s stock.
Johnson & Johnson Company Profile
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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