Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Short Interest Update

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,660,000 shares, a decrease of 5.5% from the September 30th total of 19,740,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on JNJ. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Securities dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Daiwa America cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.2 %

JNJ traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $160.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,568,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,964,115. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $385.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.46% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 400.0% during the third quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.