Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) dropped 0.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $163.51 and last traded at $165.01. Approximately 1,895,642 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 6,984,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $152.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.19. The firm has a market cap of $398.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,536,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559,147 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $349,206,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.