Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 0.2% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price was up 0.2% on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $145.77 and last traded at $144.86. Approximately 1,190,817 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 7,169,257 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.62.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.73.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $348.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $152.12 and a 200-day moving average of $156.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after buying an additional 1,829,257 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.