Clarity Financial LLC Sells 43,236 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Clarity Financial LLC decreased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) by 91.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,106 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,236 shares during the period. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,178,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Marathon Capital Management lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.6% in the third quarter. Marathon Capital Management now owns 27,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,119,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 671.9% in the third quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 30,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after acquiring an additional 26,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 42.1% in the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 68,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,363,000 after acquiring an additional 20,404 shares during the last quarter. 67.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded up $6.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $183.70. 681,286 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,890,662. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $155.72 and a twelve month high of $184.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $483.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 19th. The company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.06. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 37.46%. The business had revenue of $23.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 24th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 23rd. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.29%.

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Thibaut Mongon sold 23,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.25, for a total value of $4,173,776.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, March 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $173.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.57.

About Johnson & Johnson (Get Rating)

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of products in the health care field. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Health, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Devices. The Consumer Health segment includes products used in the baby care, oral care, beauty, over-the-counter pharmaceutical, women’s health, and wound care markets.

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