Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 1.1% – Here’s Why

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price dropped 1.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $163.83 and last traded at $163.64. Approximately 1,982,760 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 6,986,697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,980,000 after buying an additional 111,570 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 343,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,740,000 after acquiring an additional 7,092 shares during the last quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 21.2% during the third quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO now owns 2,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 23.3% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 91,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,879,000 after acquiring an additional 17,320 shares during the last quarter. 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.