Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 261,871 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,787,442 shares of the company’s stock after selling 261,871 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 0.7% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.24% of Johnson & Johnson worth $836,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $394.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

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.