Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price traded down 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $151.81 and last traded at $152.61. 2,876,662 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 7,006,470 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.8 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.41 and a 200 day moving average of $156.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.