Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares fell 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $153.25 and last traded at $153.36. Approximately 1,148,213 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,966,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.00.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.39 and a 200-day moving average of $155.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $367.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $765,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 46.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 101,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,015,000 after buying an additional 32,244 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.0% in the first quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 88,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,067,000 after purchasing an additional 4,998 shares during the last quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the first quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 14,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 21,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,322,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.