Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $163.69 and last traded at $163.86. 1,553,334 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 7,064,598 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 19th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $158.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.