Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 0.1%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $149.73 and last traded at $148.87. 1,253,023 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 7,369,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $358.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $153.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company 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 firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

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

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company's stock worth $327,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,175 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $193,050,000. Finally, Focused Investors Fund L P bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $193,996,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.