Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 249,615 shares of the company’s stock after selling 997 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.4% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $36,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at $331,178,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. TD Securities decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $167.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $158.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.