Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 1.3% - Should You Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) experienced a decline in share price of 1.3% on Tuesday. The stock fell to a low of $165.06 before closing at $165.52. During midday trading, around 2,324,725 shares changed hands, which was a significant drop of 67% compared to the average daily trading volume of 7,053,116 shares. The previous closing price for the stock stood at $167.70.

Analyst Opinions on Johnson & Johnson

Many analysts have provided their assessments of Johnson & Johnson's stock. Bank of America recently raised their target price for JNJ from $159.00 to $171.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating. However, not all reports are optimistic; Wells Fargo reduced their target price from $166.00 to $152.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating. Guggenheim also affirmed a "neutral" rating in their latest review. Meanwhile, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their "outperform" rating with a target price of $181.00. Overall, nine analysts suggest holding the stock, while eight recommend buying, and two have given it a strong buy rating. As per MarketBeat.com, the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average target price set at $171.33.

Stock Performance Insights

The stock features a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86, and a current ratio of 1.11. The fifty-day simple moving average is $153.44, and the two-hundred-day average stands at $156.28. Johnson & Johnson boasts a market capitalization of $399.33 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, with a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Recent Earnings Report

On January 22nd, Johnson & Johnson reported its latest quarterly earnings, showing earnings per share (EPS) of $2.04, which surpassed analysts' expectations of $1.99 by $0.05. The company generated revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, exceeding the forecast of $22.44 billion. Year-on-year, the revenue increased by 5.3%. During the same quarter last year, the EPS was $2.29. Analysts project that Johnson & Johnson will have an EPS of 10.58 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Information

Johnson & Johnson declared a quarterly dividend, which was distributed on March 4th. The dividend of $1.24 was paid to stockholders who were on record as of February 18th. The company's annualized dividend now stands at $4.96, resulting in a dividend yield of 2.99% and a payout ratio of 74.59%.

Insider Transactions

In recent news regarding insider trading, Vice President Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company on February 25th at an average price of $165.88, accumulating a total of approximately $1.16 million from this transaction. This sale reduced his ownership by 25%. Additionally, Executive VP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares on February 18th for about $62,928.45, marking a 2.6% decrease in his holdings. Currently, company insiders own 0.16% of the stock.

Institutional Investment Changes

Various institutional investors and hedge funds have made changes to their positions in Johnson & Johnson. For instance, Knuff & Co LLC increased their stake by 0.7% in the third quarter, now holding 9,466 shares valued at $1.53 million. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its position by 1.3%, bringing their total to 5,211 shares valued at $844,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted their stake by 4.1%, adding 1,640 shares worth $237,000. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Company Overview

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company that focuses on research, development, manufacturing, and selling healthcare products. The company operates through two segments: Innovative Medicine and MedTech. The Innovative Medicine segment targets various areas, including immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular health, and metabolism.

Johnson, Shares, Market