Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 318,642 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 557.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 375,834 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 318,642 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $54,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $162.93 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.34. The company has a market capitalization of $392.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.