Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Coverage Initiated at Scotiabank

Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “sector outperform” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.35% from the stock’s previous close.

JNJ has been the topic of several other reports. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $190.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.05.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $196.00 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $197.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $185.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.94. The company has a market capitalization of $472.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.73% and a net margin of 27.26%.The firm had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.