Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0.2%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $165.25 and last traded at $164.90. 679,255 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 7,184,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Daiwa America cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Securities reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $398.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after buying an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after buying an additional 3,244,862 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after buying an additional 2,489,925 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.