Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 1.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) were up 1.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $203.48 and last traded at $203.04. Approximately 14,662,227 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 65% from the average daily volume of 8,878,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $212.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Johnson Rice set a $190.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $203.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.05.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $489.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $186.69 and its 200-day moving average is $170.77.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 32.73%. The company had revenue of $24.02 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 50.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,652,491.53. This trade represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.