Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $157.61 and last traded at $157.68. 3,343,046 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 7,741,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $368.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $159.75 and a 200-day moving average of $155.84.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 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.