Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 0.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $149.70 and last traded at $149.18. 1,810,982 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 7,920,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $365.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $159.40 and its 200 day moving average is $155.21.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly 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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’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 approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % 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

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 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.