Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded down 1.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $163.13 and last traded at $163.56. Approximately 2,079,269 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 8,995,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.9 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $149.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.92. The stock has a market cap of $392.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 14.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 425,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,985,000 after acquiring an additional 52,997 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $213,000. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,980,000 after purchasing an additional 111,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 982,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,239,000 after purchasing an additional 130,305 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.