Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $146.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $351.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $148.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.06.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.