Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 0.4% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $153.74 and last traded at $153.74. 1,316,113 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 7,008,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.2 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.21 and a 200 day moving average of $156.21. The stock has a market cap of $373.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,626,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 137.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,061,000 after buying an additional 25,203 shares during the period. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 87,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,125,000 after purchasing an additional 21,471 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.