Short Interest in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Expands By 6.7%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,130,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the August 15th total of 19,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,870,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Daiwa America cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Securities cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $167.52. 1,047,716 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,156,925. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $403.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $159.98 and a 200 day moving average of $153.98.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% in the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.