Johnson & Johnson Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 45,802 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 41% compared to the typical volume of 32,506 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $149.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $155.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.57. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Fortress Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortress Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 40,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,247,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,770,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGuire Investment Group LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC now owns 54,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,515,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.