Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 0.5%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 0.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $145.60 and last traded at $145.47. 2,412,858 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 7,151,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $156.54 and its 200 day moving average is $155.74. The firm has a market cap of $351.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.68%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,607,414,000 after acquiring an additional 54,326,454 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $4,609,399,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,458,962,000 after acquiring an additional 4,521,062 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 61.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,287,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,868,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,278,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 22,104,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,464,617,000 after acquiring an additional 4,021,883 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.