Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 1.4%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded down 1.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $143.67 and last traded at $145.48. 3,907,928 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 7,062,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.4 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $157.07 and a 200-day moving average of $155.90. 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 has a market capitalization of $350.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.47%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 33,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,275,000 after purchasing an additional 4,797 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 51,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,218,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 15,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,423,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711 shares during the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 31,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,026,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 9.4% in the first quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.