Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 0.8%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price traded down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $158.05 and last traded at $159.34. 1,393,253 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 7,306,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.00.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.12. The firm has a market cap of $382.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391,657 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth about $331,178,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.