Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $181.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on JNJ. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.72.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $157.42 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. 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 $159.47 and its 200 day moving average is $155.06. The company has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.