Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 1.2% - What's Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $151.64 and last traded at $151.41. 1,150,234 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 9,376,108 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $155.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.67. The stock has a market cap of $368.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. MBL Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 28.4% during the first quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the company's stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 56.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,200,425 shares of the company's stock worth $199,053,000 after purchasing an additional 432,407 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 65,053 shares of the company's stock worth $10,788,000 after buying an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 457,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,830,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorns Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $263,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.