Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Johnson & Johnson's stock price rose by 1.1% to $169.24 during mid-day trading, despite experiencing a significant drop in trading volume compared to the average.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $174.50, as major firms have raised their price targets for the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 55.61%.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $168.77 and last traded at $169.24. Approximately 1,307,124 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 9,021,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $167.00 price objective (up previously from $164.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $157.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.41.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 41,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 3,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 166.7% during the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 65,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,504,000 after acquiring an additional 41,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 16,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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