Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price dropped 0.7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $156.06 and last traded at $156.20. Approximately 6,402,249 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 9,304,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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, Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $380.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This 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

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 425,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,985,000 after buying an additional 52,997 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $213,000. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,980,000 after purchasing an additional 111,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 451,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,186,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.