Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $153.52 and last traded at $154.47. Approximately 1,195,864 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 9,132,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $368.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.06.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released 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 net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,755,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,088 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,064,149,000 after buying an additional 1,004,763 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,187,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,630,216,000 after acquiring an additional 547,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.