Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.5% - Should You Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $157.17 and last traded at $157.25. Approximately 1,637,742 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 8,813,844 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $390.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $148.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Johnson & Johnson's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company's stock worth $1,534,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company's stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the company's stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.