Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 0.7% - What's Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $158.72 and last traded at $158.00. 1,084,657 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 7,912,802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company's fifty day moving average price is $159.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.95. The firm has a market cap of $371.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. 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 3.37%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the 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 directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 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 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 position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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.