Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was up 1.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $153.72 and last traded at $153.70. Approximately 2,560,077 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 7,932,766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.50.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $159.40 and its 200-day moving average is $155.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $371.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,723,000 after acquiring an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 8,207 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,180,000 after buying an additional 4,640 shares in 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.