Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded down 1.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $163.83 and last traded at $163.64. 1,982,760 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,986,697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 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 price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $151.73 and its 200-day moving average is $156.12. The stock has a market cap of $397.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.