Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 0.1% Higher

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) were up 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $149.73 and last traded at $148.87. Approximately 1,253,023 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 7,369,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $153.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.93. The firm has a market cap of $359.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. 4J Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. My Personal CFO LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookmont Capital Management grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 14,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,328,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.