Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 1.6% Following Strong Earnings

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $147.66 and last traded at $147.63. Approximately 2,599,967 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 8,890,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.27.

The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22,438,500 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 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Raymond James decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.05. The company has a market capitalization of $355.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.