Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $165.84, but opened at $160.73. Johnson & Johnson shares last traded at $158.00, with a volume of 4,855,291 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $159.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.98. The company has a market capitalization of $374.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the first quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 14,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,367,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Waller Financial Planning Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at $203,000. Marotta Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.7% during the first quarter. Marotta Asset Management now owns 2,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 11,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.