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

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $164.00 to $169.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

JNJ has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $157.42 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.