Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Short Interest Update

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,810,000 shares, an increase of 5.1% from the July 31st total of 18,850,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after buying an additional 3,391,657 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,945,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,483,532,000 after acquiring an additional 241,799 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $167.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $402.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $156.82 and a 200 day moving average of $153.70.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Daiwa America lowered Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Securities lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.21.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.