Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 0.2% Higher

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was up 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $155.88 and last traded at $155.57. Approximately 826,149 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 7,052,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $167.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Johnson & Johnson from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $380.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $158.76 and its 200 day moving average is $156.69.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.01. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The company had revenue of $21.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.47%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.