Short Interest in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Increases By 6.7%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was the target of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,130,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the August 15th total of 19,810,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,870,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.3% during the first quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,464,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.6 %

Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $166.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,687,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,165,531. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $160.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.01. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $399.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.21.

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.