Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 1.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) were up 1.4% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $166.39 and last traded at $166.08. Approximately 2,076,478 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 7,603,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a market cap of $399.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $158.68 and its 200-day moving average is $156.07.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.