Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $146.60 and last traded at $145.79. 967,393 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 7,159,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.73.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

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 50 day simple moving average of $153.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $349.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after buying an additional 1,829,257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.