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

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

JNJ has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, May 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock opened at $149.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.07. 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 firm has a market cap of $360.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.55.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the fourth 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. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.