Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Lowered to $163.00 at Morgan Stanley

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $163.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on JNJ. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $146.76 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.99. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,397 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at about $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.