Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $151.81 and last traded at $152.61. 2,876,662 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 7,006,470 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $367.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth $1,626,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 137.2% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,061,000 after acquiring an additional 25,203 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 87,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,125,000 after purchasing an additional 21,471 shares during the period. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.3% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 61,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,998,000 after purchasing an additional 4,174 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.