Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) saw a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,660,000 shares, a decline 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 trading volume of 6,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after buying an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter valued at about $331,178,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $160.32. 2,568,846 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,964,115. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.32. The company has a market cap of $385.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.46% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Securities cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.93.

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.