Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $169.83 and last traded at $169.14, with a volume of 1106799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.7 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.19. The company has a market cap of $394.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade 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 accessible through the SEC website. 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Knuff & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.