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

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) were up 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $145.60 and last traded at $145.47. Approximately 2,412,858 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 7,151,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Bank of America cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.1 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $348.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 2.40 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) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.68%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% in the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.