Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0% – What’s Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares rose 0% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $164.39 and last traded at $163.65. Approximately 1,244,081 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 7,066,249 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $157.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.14. The firm has a market cap of $388.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $721,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 44.2% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 87,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,198,000 after purchasing an additional 26,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.7% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,891,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,662,000 after purchasing an additional 205,789 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.