Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 1.3% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) traded down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $157.61 and last traded at $157.68. 3,343,046 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 7,741,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.66. The stock has a market cap of $359.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.