Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 1.1%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares were down 1.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $146.36 and last traded at $146.84. Approximately 1,937,967 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 7,319,339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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, April 17th. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven research 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.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $155.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $352.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 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 the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. 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 3.39%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction 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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 4J Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the 4th 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 increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of 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 period. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Brookmont Capital Management increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 14,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. 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.