Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 0.4% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) fell 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $162.25 and last traded at $162.34. 1,262,772 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 7,022,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.33.

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Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average price is $156.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.25. 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 company has a market cap of $393.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.