Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 2.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares rose 2.7% during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $164.00 to $169.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $157.68 and last traded at $158.11. Approximately 2,942,555 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 7,936,092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.91.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 8,207 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,180,000 after buying an additional 4,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $159.49 and its 200 day moving average is $155.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. On average, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

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.