Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 0.9% – Time to Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price dropped 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $158.77 and last traded at $158.98. Approximately 943,136 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 7,069,127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. TD Securities reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $384.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $162.61 and a 200 day moving average of $154.30.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 48,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,618,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 84.8% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 14,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,219,000 after acquiring an additional 6,503 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 107.1% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 20,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,136,000 after purchasing an additional 10,348 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 5,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.