Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Still a Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price shot up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $164.15 and last traded at $164.31. 1,319,497 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 7,057,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $158.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.23. 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 company has a market cap of $395.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, 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 corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.