Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 0.6%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares rose 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $147.98 and last traded at $147.91. Approximately 796,552 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 7,257,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, June 17th. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 30th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $356.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $147.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.59.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at about $331,178,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,175 shares in the last quarter. 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.