Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 3,346 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 239,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,346 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.2% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $34,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 25,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,753,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 4,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 50,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,328,000 after acquiring an additional 6,418 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC now owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 33,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,812,000 after buying an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on JNJ. Leerink Partners dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $165.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $398.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $151.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.12. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.