Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,150,000 shares, a drop of 23.0% from the March 15th total of 24,870,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

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

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $157.42 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.95. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.82.

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.