Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 1.5% – Time to Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $246.35 and last traded at $244.54. 10,239,783 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 9,283,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Loop Capital set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.73.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $586.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 28.46%.The business had revenue of $24.28 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 47.06%.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 110.7% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 9,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sendero Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% during the second quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.