Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0.1%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $159.14 and last traded at $158.19. 6,181,503 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 7,203,187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Johnson & Johnson from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has 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 price target of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $381.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.69.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.01. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The company had revenue of $21.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 34.47%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.