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

Key Points

• Johnson & Johnson experienced a significant 629% increase in call options trading volume, with investors acquiring 256,790 call options on the company.
• Several analysts have varied ratings on JNJ, with two issuing a Strong Buy, nine a Buy, and nine a Hold, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $176.29.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which corresponds to an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a yield of 2.9%.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 256,790 call options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately629% compared to the average daily volume of 35,210 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth $4,877,174,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at $1,369,188,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 15,040.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,420,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,512,000 after acquiring an additional 7,371,687 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,196,596,000 after acquiring an additional 7,185,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,844,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,842,582 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $1.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $175.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,612,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,965,297. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.72. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $181.16. The firm has a market cap of $421.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.41.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.61%.

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.