Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 0.8% – What’s Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded down 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $163.03 and last traded at $162.92. 892,432 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 7,029,957 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $393.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $156.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,536,000 after acquiring an additional 4,559,147 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $349,206,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.