Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $163.93 and last traded at $164.07. 1,170,180 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 7,006,187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective 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. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $396.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $162.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.66.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth about $46,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 217.1% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at $49,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.