Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 314,650 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 84.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,495 shares of the company's stock after selling 314,650 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ traded up $0.67 on Wednesday, hitting $154.29. 2,999,007 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,954,557. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $159.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $371.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.78.

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.