Rahlfs Capital LLC Acquires New Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Rahlfs Capital LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,462,000. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.4% of Rahlfs Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $164,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 56,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,213,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,542,668 shares of the company's stock worth $656,961,000 after buying an additional 128,374 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 166.7% in the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 65,720 shares of the company's stock worth $9,504,000 after buying an additional 41,075 shares during the period. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 6,360,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $919,818,000 after acquiring an additional 66,206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $2.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.79. 5,762,382 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,858,633. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $356.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.