Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price target upped by Bank of America from $159.00 to $171.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.22% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on JNJ. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $165.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $152.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $398.85 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other 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.