Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 1.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell 1.3% on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $175.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as low as $147.25 and last traded at $147.31. 1,719,960 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 7,071,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.23.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $166.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 17.5% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth about $676,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,243,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,455,000 after purchasing an additional 48,250 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $406,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.2% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 24,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,900,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $353.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $157.58 and a 200 day moving average of $156.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.