Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Rating Increased to Buy at The Goldman Sachs Group

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $172.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $157.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.73% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on JNJ. Citigroup lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $148.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.27.

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

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.