Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 0.3% – What’s Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares traded up 0.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $164.19 and last traded at $163.82. 1,066,713 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 7,088,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners lowered 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. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $157.37 and a 200 day moving average of $156.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $387.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.