Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 2.1%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) fell 2.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $143.39 and last traded at $144.45. 12,774,859 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 95% from the average session volume of 6,557,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.36.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $156.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company's stock worth $9,607,414,000 after acquiring an additional 54,326,454 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company's stock worth $7,458,962,000 after acquiring an additional 4,521,062 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,609,399,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company's stock worth $3,764,852,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 22,104,221 shares of the company's stock worth $3,464,617,000 after acquiring an additional 4,021,883 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is 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.