Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 409,044 shares of the company's stock after selling 67,555 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $59,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock worth $562,723,000 after acquiring an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $416,000. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 47,550 shares of the company's stock worth $6,877,000 after buying an additional 3,427 shares during the period. InvesTrust purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $6,355,000. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 599,386 shares of the company's stock worth $86,683,000 after purchasing an additional 6,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $153.98. The company had a trading volume of 6,519,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,891,472. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $370.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.37.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 57.84%.

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.