Traders Buy High Volume of Johnson & Johnson Put Options (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 88,712 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 190% compared to the typical volume of 30,626 put options.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $144.77. 9,302,956 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,195,517. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.39 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The company has a market cap of $348.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $156.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.82.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 34.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,758,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $1,458,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.36.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.