Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $169.83 and last traded at $169.14, with a volume of 1106799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $152.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.19. The firm has a market cap of $394.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. Research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.