Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Royal Bank of Canada

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $175.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.90% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $149.70 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.07. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $175.97. The company has a market capitalization of $360.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after buying an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,945,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,483,532,000 after purchasing an additional 241,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,664,620,000 after buying an additional 498,647 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.