Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 0.7%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price was up 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $150.10 and last traded at $149.97. Approximately 1,187,109 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 7,373,427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $153.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.