Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 0.5% Higher – Here’s Why

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares shot up 0.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $157.12 and last traded at $156.30. 1,302,742 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 7,022,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.4 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $160.41 and its 200-day moving average is $156.17. 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 $373.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,862 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in 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 valued at $3,453,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by 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.