Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 1.1% - Here's What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $155.17 and last traded at $156.03. 2,649,415 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 7,907,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Guggenheim restated 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 assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.7 %

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $159.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.95. The company has a market capitalization of $373.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 57.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction 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 owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.

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