Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,930,000 shares, an increase of 14.3% from the May 15th total of 17,430,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 7,620,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock opened at $145.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.97. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.65.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth $331,178,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,647,000 after buying an additional 2,064,175 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.