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

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price was down 0.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $153.24 and last traded at $154.80. Approximately 2,426,377 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 8,819,878 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $373.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 425,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,985,000 after buying an additional 52,997 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 97,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.