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

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 58,414 call options on the company. This is an increase of 69% compared to the typical daily volume of 34,611 call options.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $162.35 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.93 and its 200 day moving average is $155.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. Citigroup reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,536,000 after acquiring an additional 4,559,147 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,456,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.