Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $170.88.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $156.90 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $377.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $153.84 and its 200 day moving average is $153.70.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 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.