Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 0.8% – Should You Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $157.02 and last traded at $156.43. Approximately 1,170,596 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 7,027,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $374.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.32.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 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, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at about $765,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 22.7% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,309,000. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 377.8% during the first quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 2,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth approximately $1,213,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.