Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $175.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $146.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $353.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $151.31 and a 200-day moving average of $155.07.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 71.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 274,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,444,000 after acquiring an additional 114,547 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 224.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 707,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,884,000 after purchasing an additional 488,955 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 96,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,197,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Raelipskie Partnership grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 14,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. Finally, Second Line Capital LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 9.2% in the first quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.