Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Overweight Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target indicates a potential upside of 44.02% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Atlantic Securities boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Eight 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.19.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE JNJ traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $149.28. The stock had a trading volume of 3,850,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,697,457. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $154.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $144.95 and a 1 year high of $181.04. The stock has a market cap of $359.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.58.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 17th. The company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.14. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 37.14% and a net margin of 36.32%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 8.6% in the first quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 67,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,975,000 after acquiring an additional 5,327 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 88.9% during the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 175,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,049,000 after purchasing an additional 82,429 shares during the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,244,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 45,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,095,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.4% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 860,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,488,000 after acquiring an additional 20,528 shares during the last quarter. 68.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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 Consumer Health segment provides skin health/beauty products under the AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, DR. CI:LABO, NEUTROGENA, and OGX brands; baby care products under the JOHNSON'S and AVEENO Baby brands; oral care products under the LISTERINE brand; TYLENOL acetaminophen products; SUDAFED cold, flu, and allergy products; BENADRYL and ZYRTEC allergy products; MOTRIN IB ibuprofen products; NICORETTE smoking cessation products; and PEPCID acid reflux products.