Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price fell 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $157.94 and last traded at $158.16. 1,753,050 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 6,947,320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on JNJ. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.00.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.76.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,862 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth $331,178,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.