Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0.5%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shot up 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $145.60 and last traded at $145.47. 2,412,858 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 7,151,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $348.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.74.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 29.68%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,758,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 4,457 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,458,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.6% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after buying an additional 2,102 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.