Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Short Interest Update

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 23,100,000 shares, an increase of 25.9% from the February 13th total of 18,350,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.9 %

JNJ stock traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $164.24. 7,346,949 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,053,118. The company has a market capitalization of $395.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.26.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

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.