Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 1.6% – Here’s Why

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $211.24 and last traded at $209.90. Approximately 8,973,702 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 8,904,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $206.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $176.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Johnson Rice set a $190.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.55.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $509.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $196.09 and its 200-day moving average is $177.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.73% and a net margin of 27.26%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.19%.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth $4,877,174,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 15,040.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,420,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,512,000 after acquiring an additional 7,371,687 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 545.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,865,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $716,657,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266,354 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,047,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,209,060,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 159.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,159,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $635,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557,388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.