Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 0.3%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shot up 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $168.46 and last traded at $167.16. 1,575,113 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 7,215,621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $157.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.81.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,454,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after buying an additional 5,680 shares during the last quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,629,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.