Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 1.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price traded up 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $167.75 and last traded at $167.58. 1,664,927 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 6,990,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $401.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.28.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

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

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.