Short Interest in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Drops By 5.2%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,570,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the November 30th total of 18,540,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.73.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $144.62 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $152.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.23. The stock has a market cap of $348.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $142.75 and a 52-week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced 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 company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 11,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 19.3% during the second quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 2,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 692,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,154,000 after acquiring an additional 27,692 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 39,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,749,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 45,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,686,000 after purchasing an additional 6,328 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.