Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Lowered to “Market Perform” Rating by Leerink Partners

Leerink Partners cut shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Leerink Partners currently has $153.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $169.00.

JNJ has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $148.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $157.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.14. The stock has a market cap of $357.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade 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 company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Elios Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the first quarter. Elios Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.