Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 2.7% – What’s Next?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) dropped 2.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $147.40 and last traded at $149.12. Approximately 5,721,327 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 7,794,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $359.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.37.

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. 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 analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,339,878,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,196,596,000 after purchasing an additional 7,185,977 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,559,147 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.