Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $159.00. The stock had previously closed at $148.15, but opened at $144.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson shares last traded at $143.57, with a volume of 3,110,293 shares changing hands.

JNJ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Summit Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 3,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.9 %

The company has a market cap of $350.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.51. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $148.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.12.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

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.