Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.1% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ) share price increased by 1.1% to $181.63, with a decline in trading volume by 6% from average levels.
• Analysts have positive forecasts for JNJ, with price targets raised by various firms, including JPMorgan and Citigroup, indicating an average target price of $181.40 and a Moderate Buy rating.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30, providing a 2.9% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 55.61%.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 1.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $181.87 and last traded at $181.63. Approximately 8,378,014 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 8,925,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.40.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.05. The company has a market cap of $437.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 25.00%.The company's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at $4,877,174,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at $1,369,188,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 15,040.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,420,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,512,000 after purchasing an additional 7,371,687 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,844,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,842,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,047,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,209,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085,180 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.

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