Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 0.7% - What's Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 0.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $157.02 and last traded at $156.43. 991,368 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 7,893,301 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $159.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.78. The company has a market cap of $372.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares during the period. Invst LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company's stock worth $1,668,000 after buying an additional 8,207 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,180,000 after acquiring an additional 4,640 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.