Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0.4%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded up 0.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $146.76 and last traded at $146.38. 1,741,673 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 7,177,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Bank of America dropped 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $156.32 and a 200-day moving average of $155.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $353.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.