Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.2% - Here's What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $156.16 and last traded at $156.39. 1,543,389 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 7,865,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $378.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company's fifty day moving average is $158.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction 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 $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. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 48.0% during the 1st quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Schubert & Co raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 30.7% during the first quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 2,027 shares of the company's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. AWM Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 15.9% in the first quarter. AWM Capital LLC now owns 3,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,679 shares of the company's stock worth $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 17,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,961,000 after acquiring an additional 3,159 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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