Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 1.3% – Should You Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price dropped 1.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $165.06 and last traded at $165.52. Approximately 2,324,725 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 7,053,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $399.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Knuff & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 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.