Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 1.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shot up 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $241.26 and last traded at $240.9690. 6,784,260 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 9,249,161 shares. The stock had previously closed at $238.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital set a $220.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $232.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Argus increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $210.00 to $240.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.73.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $580.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.19.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $24.28 billion for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.34%. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. YCG LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. YCG LLC now owns 4,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. Stirlingshire Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $502,000. CSM Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 256,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,990,000 after buying an additional 9,333 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC now owns 3,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $217,000. 69.55% of the stock is 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.