Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price traded down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $161.90 and last traded at $162.60. 743,774 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 6,994,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of several research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. TD Securities reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The company 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 company earned $2.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth $43,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 217.1% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth about $49,000. 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.