Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0.6% – What’s Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares traded up 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $156.63 and last traded at $155.40. 4,140,444 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 7,057,054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $373.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53.

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 company had revenue of $22.47 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,437,397 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after buying an additional 3,244,862 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489,925 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.