Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 0% - Still a Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) shares rose 0% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $158.20 and last traded at $155.93. Approximately 1,332,074 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 7,889,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $374.72 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.77.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $562,723,000 after buying an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 8,207 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,765 shares of the company's stock worth $8,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,640 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.

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