Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 1.3% Higher – Here’s Why

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JNJ. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $393.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. 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 50 day moving average price of $158.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.18.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

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

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $212,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $154,000. Nestegg Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $251,000. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $883,000. Finally, DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,888,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.