Dividend Kings Down Today: Why Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Coca-Cola (KO) and Procter & Gamble (PG) Are Sliding

Markets are moving higher for the second straight day. 

All thanks to talk of cooling trade war tensions, and President Trump’s admission that he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell.

However, while markets are up across the board, some stocks aren’t going along for the ride, including Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ | JNJ Price Prediction), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG).

Johnson & Johnson 

At the moment, shares of Johnson & Johnson are down about $1.45 on the day.

For one, the company beat earnings expectations and raised guidance. Adjusted EPS of $2.77 beat estimates. Sales were up 2.4% to $21.9 billion, beating estimates of $21.6 billion. It also expects to see operational sales of $92 billion, as compared to a forecast of $91.3 billion.

The company had plenty to celebrate. Unfortunately, the stock is pulling back as tariffs weigh on investors.  In fact, JNJ just forecasted $400 million in tariff-related costs.

Coca-Cola 

UBS just reiterated a buy rating on Coca-Cola with a $73 price target.

However, that’s not stopping the stock’s slight pullback this morning, which is most likely because of profit-taking, with KO struggling at double-top resistance. 

Still the 1% drop on the day is significant as the S&P 500 is up 3.14%. The move is likely due to fearful investors moving out of yields and dipping toes back into the broad market. 

Procter & Gamble 

Shares of Procter & Gamble are down about $2.65 as it heads into earnings tomorrow.

Not helping, some analysts expect the company to cut its forecast thanks to uncertainty over spending with global trade tensions. Unfortunately, consumer spending in several categories is expected to remain under immense pressure. 

Even its competitor, Kimberly-Clark just lowered its annual profit taking and warned the trade war could drive up its input costs.

“The time has come for the majority of consumer staples companies to cut their earnings forecasts significantly … investors are looking for visibility and can’t find it in the most visible of sectors like consumer staples,” added analysts at RBC Capital Markets.

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