Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell 4.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $156.55 and last traded at $157.85. 6,409,392 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 9,100,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $374.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $159.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.98.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.