Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 2.3% – Here’s Why

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares were down 2.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $141.50 and last traded at $146.56. Approximately 4,046,522 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 7,851,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.33.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.5 %

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 has a 50-day moving average of $159.63 and a 200-day moving average of $155.51. The stock has a market cap of $363.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $69,859,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,662,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.