Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 1.4%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $143.67 and last traded at $145.48. 3,907,928 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 7,062,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $350.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted 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 37.27% and a net margin of 37.79%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 link. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. 4J Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. My Personal CFO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. FIDELIS iM LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. FIDELIS iM LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 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.