Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.5% – Still a Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price was up 1.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $246.35 and last traded at $244.54. Approximately 10,239,783 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 9,283,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $174.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.73.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $215.57 and a 200-day moving average of $195.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $589.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.34% and a net margin of 28.46%.The business had revenue of $24.28 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,924,523,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,005,942,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 15,040.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,420,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,512,000 after acquiring an additional 7,371,687 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,740,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,471,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,546,130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,605,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.