Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.8% - Here's What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) shares rose 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $149.07 and last traded at $148.97. Approximately 1,860,400 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 7,908,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's 50 day moving average is $156.92 and its 200 day moving average is $154.09.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. On average, analysts predict 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 paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BCS Wealth Management bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $560,000. Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 216.1% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 4,353 shares during the period. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $1,099,000. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,313,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 69,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 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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