Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 0.7% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) fell 0.7% on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $166.00 to $165.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as low as $152.10 and last traded at $153.27. 3,332,488 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 7,947,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.36.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.72.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 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 approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % 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 bought and sold shares of the company. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock 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 stock has a market capitalization of $379.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $159.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.06.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 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.