Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 0.2% – Still a Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $162.17 and last traded at $161.91. Approximately 1,051,521 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 6,970,687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $386.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.46% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,100,427,000 after buying an additional 754,200 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,921,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,357,000 after acquiring an additional 437,637 shares during the last quarter. 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.