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

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 58,414 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 69% compared to the average daily volume of 34,611 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Knuff & Co LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Day Solutions LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $159.62 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.89. The stock has a market cap of $384.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Raymond James cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

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.