Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0.8% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shot up 0.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $155.55 and last traded at $155.51. 2,866,360 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 8,936,769 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased 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. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently 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.