Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares dropped 1.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $165.06 and last traded at $165.52. Approximately 2,324,725 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 7,053,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on JNJ. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $392.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $154.23 and a 200 day moving average of $156.34.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,536,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559,147 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $349,206,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.