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

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $150.00, but opened at $142.20. Johnson & Johnson shares last traded at $146.04, with a volume of 2,551,151 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $365.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.21.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, 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 transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. IFS Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 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.