Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $252.14 and last traded at $253.6990. Approximately 7,929,696 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 8,390,155 shares. The stock had previously closed at $257.77.

Key Stories Impacting Johnson & Johnson

Here are the key news stories impacting Johnson & Johnson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators expect an upbeat Q2 print, with forecasts calling for solid revenue and earnings despite headwinds from Stelara. Johnson & Johnson: Analysts see upbeat Q2 print despite Stelara headwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Several previews highlight JNJ’s strong year-to-date performance and say the stock could continue higher if earnings and guidance beat expectations. Johnson & Johnson Q2 Preview: Stock Near All-Time Highs, Market Expert Sees Rally to $282 – ‘Continue Their Winning Ways’
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on JNJ to $287 and reiterated an outperform view, signaling confidence in the company’s outlook. Benzinga / RBC price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Recent pieces emphasize JNJ’s durable dividend, defensive profile, and appeal for long-term investors, which can support demand ahead of earnings. Is Dividend King Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) a Buy Ahead of Earnings?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on JNJ. Leerink Partners raised Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $254.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. HSBC set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.26.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $237.62 and its 200 day moving average is $233.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $610.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.60 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total value of $2,411,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 110.7% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 4,876 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 73,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,255,000 after acquiring an additional 6,584 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.