Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 1.3% – Here’s Why

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) dropped 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $165.06 and last traded at $165.52. Approximately 2,324,725 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 7,053,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $154.23 and a 200-day moving average of $156.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.