Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 3.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) dropped 3.1% on Wednesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $159.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as low as $142.11 and last traded at $143.55. Approximately 5,436,238 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 8,514,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.15.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on JNJ. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.27.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $350.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $148.26 and its 200 day moving average is $156.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.78%.

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.