Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $251.71 and last traded at $248.6050, with a volume of 8884574 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $248.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.70.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.1%

The stock has a market cap of $599.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $225.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 28.46%.The business had revenue of $24.28 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.66, for a total transaction of $324,762.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,251,310.02. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,700.17. This trade represents a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blueline Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.