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

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 65,003 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 64% compared to the average volume of 39,673 put options.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $152.57 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $167.86 and a 200 day moving average of $168.99. The company has a market capitalization of $397.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.54. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $151.91 and a 12 month high of $186.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $23.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.90 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.76% and a net margin of 18.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 21st will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 17th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Monday, February 6th. SVB Leerink lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $194.00 to $186.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 20th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, November 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.73.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, CFO Joseph J. Wolk sold 14,781 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.60, for a total value of $2,654,667.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,812 shares in the company, valued at $6,431,835.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1,044.4% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Retirement Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 67.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Johnson & Johnson

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Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of products in the health care field. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Health, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Devices. The Consumer Health segment includes products used in the baby care, oral care, beauty, over-the-counter pharmaceutical, women’s health, and wound care markets.