Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 0.4% - Here's What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $154.83 and last traded at $154.91. Approximately 2,406,487 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 7,879,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.2%

The stock has a market cap of $370.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm's 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 owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $453,000. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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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