Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 0.2% Higher

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares shot up 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $155.88 and last traded at $155.57. 826,149 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 7,052,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. UBS Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $167.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, December 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $380.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $158.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $21.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.02 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $11,466,000. Napatree Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $364,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $107,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% during the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $246,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.