Johnson & Johnson Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 52,354 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 52% compared to the average daily volume of 34,484 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.07.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.9 %

NYSE:JNJ traded up $4.43 on Wednesday, hitting $155.44. 5,035,282 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,244,479. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $374.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

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.