Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Upgraded at Daiwa America

Daiwa America upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $213.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $190.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.05.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $192.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $194.48. The company has a market capitalization of $464.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $181.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.56.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 33.08%. The company had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. This represents 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 this link. 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 the stock. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.