Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $141.44 and last traded at $143.18, with a volume of 1678788 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.71.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $150.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.23. The firm has a market cap of $343.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9,652.2% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 328,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 325,086 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 28.8% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 923,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,977,000 after acquiring an additional 206,671 shares during the last quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $660,000. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the second quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 126,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynch & Associates IN increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.6% during the second quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 91,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,366,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.