Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 0.2% After Insider Selling

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded down 0.2% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $161.73 and last traded at $162.82. 2,146,395 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 9,057,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.08.

Specifically, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.02. 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 market cap of $393.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $35,000. 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.