Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $154.17 and last traded at $155.16. 2,247,368 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 7,035,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $373.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $159.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 71.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 7,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 11.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 186,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,605 shares during the period. Destination Wealth Management increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.7% in the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 268,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,519,000 after purchasing an additional 7,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 112.4% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 501,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,214,000 after purchasing an additional 265,215 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.