Synovus Financial Corp Sells 14,357 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Synovus Financial Corp decreased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 226,889 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,357 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $32,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. Bank of America dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.50.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE JNJ traded down $1.03 on Tuesday, hitting $153.33. 1,612,667 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,941,743. The company has a market capitalization of $369.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $159.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.