Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 0.5%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $145.60 and last traded at $145.47. 2,412,858 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 7,151,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $356.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $156.15 and a 200 day moving average of $155.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,758,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,458,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after buying an additional 2,102 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.