Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Short Interest Down 6.3% in January

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,460,000 shares, a decline of 6.3% from the December 31st total of 17,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.44.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $0.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $152.09. The company had a trading volume of 8,457,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,773,020. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $366.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $147.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.09.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.