Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 0.2% Following Insider Selling

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $161.73 and last traded at $162.82. 2,146,395 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 9,057,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.08.

Specifically, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JNJ. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFS Advisors LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.