Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 0.8% – Time to Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares were down 0.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $163.03 and last traded at $162.92. Approximately 892,432 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 7,029,957 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $391.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Knuff & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 66 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 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.