Traders Purchase Large Volume of Johnson & Johnson Call Options (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 61,885 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 39% compared to the typical volume of 44,679 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $157.42 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The company has a market capitalization of $379.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $159.49 and its 200-day moving average is $155.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’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 value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,723,000 after buying an additional 329,473 shares during the period. Invst LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 8,207 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.