Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 0.6% - Time to Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $153.63 and last traded at $154.42. Approximately 2,056,304 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 7,900,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports 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 for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.3 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $371.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The business's fifty day moving average price is $159.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.84.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth about $69,859,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.