Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) were down 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $163.51 and last traded at $165.01. Approximately 1,895,642 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 6,984,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $401.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.30.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.