Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 2.3% - Should You Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) traded down 2.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $141.50 and last traded at $146.56. 4,046,522 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 7,851,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James reduced 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 note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 2.0 %

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $159.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company'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 sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock worth $562,723,000 after buying an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 8,207 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,765 shares of the company's stock worth $8,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,640 shares during the period. 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.