Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares shot up 1.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $169.90 and last traded at $169.16. 4,082,648 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 7,022,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $403.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders 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 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,980,000 after acquiring an additional 111,570 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.0% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 4,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Holistic Planning LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 39.4% during the third quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.