Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $182.42.

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Several brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $194.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 19th. Atlantic Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from 01 to $6 John $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 19th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $192.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 19th. Barclays started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, October 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $172.36 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $176.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.39. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $155.72 and a 1 year high of $186.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $450.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 18th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.06. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.95% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company had revenue of $23.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 17th. a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 62.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Ashley Mcevoy sold 73,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.47, for a total transaction of $12,865,986.81 of the Fpleoling. the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,336,927.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In Peter other news 29,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.36, for a total transaction of $5,016,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns, 67 1 the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,650,879.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP As Hley Mcevoy sold 73,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.47, for a total value of $12,865,986.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the ice executive directly owns 41,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,336,927.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 277,886 shares of company stock worth $48,550,549 in the last 90 day of the stock comps. Company 0 insiders own 35% .

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $140,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Johnson1.5% by Johnson the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 130,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,090,000 after acquiring an additional 12,381 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson. Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% in the fourth Manest Inc. quarter. AHLage Investment now owns 13,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,461,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Ko ch Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 95,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,949,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares in the last quartered invested hortest. own 67.94% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches and develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company’s Consumer Health segment offers baby care products under the JOHNSON’S and AVEENO Baby INTER ISTER brands; oral care under the Lbrs skin health/beauty products under the AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, DR.

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