Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 0.6% – What’s Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $152.38 and last traded at $152.25. Approximately 2,799,054 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 7,929,391 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $366.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $156.27 and a 200 day moving average of $153.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Elios Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Elios Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.