Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) were down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $151.70 and last traded at $151.81. Approximately 1,428,737 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 7,293,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, May 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.55.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 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.