Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 0.9%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price traded up 0.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $149.49 and last traded at $148.82. 1,882,854 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 7,017,068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 2.1 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.82. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $348.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company 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 positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $37,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.