Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0.5% - Should You Buy?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) were up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $164.13 and last traded at $163.78. Approximately 3,440,645 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 7,035,968 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $393.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The stock's fifty day moving average is $156.99 and its 200-day moving average is $156.17.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 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.