Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 0.1% – Time to Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price was down 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $163.51 and last traded at $165.01. Approximately 1,895,642 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 6,984,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.19. 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 market capitalization of $398.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.