Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0.7% – What’s Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price traded up 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $148.86 and last traded at $148.00. 2,339,691 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 8,031,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.29.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $355.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.11.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.5% during the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 3,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 19,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after buying an additional 3,490 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth $80,751,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 110,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.4% during the second quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 40,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,979,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.