Analysts Set Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) PT at $133.72

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $132.13.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Vetr cut Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $128.90 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $132.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, UBS AG reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, May 15th.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE JNJ) opened at 133.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $357.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $133.09 and its 200-day moving average is $126.30. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $109.32 and a one year high of $137.08.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ 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 return on equity of 26.76% and a net margin of 22.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post $7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 56.76%.

In other news, VP Dominic J. Caruso sold 82,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paulus Stoffels sold 102,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harding Loevner LP purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth $106,000. Lenox Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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. Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 29.9% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co. Ltd. now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $117,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $144,000. Institutional investors 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.