Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 0.1% After Insider Selling

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price fell 0.1% on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $153.24 and last traded at $154.80. 2,426,377 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 8,819,878 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.91.

Specifically, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $384.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.89.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.